When Small Things Mean a Lot

Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,  

It is an honour for me to open the 4th International Conference on Marine Bioprospecting. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the organisers of the conference – the research communities in Tromsø and Trondheim. In hosting more than 200 delegates from far and wide, BIOPROSP 2009 has established itself as one of the leading international conferences on marine bioprospecting. 

This conference is an important event for developing relations and for the exchange of knowledge within marine bioprospecting. The participation of a broad spectrum of private and public institutions and enterprises certainly creates a forum for inspiration, dialogue and future collaboration.  

The Norwegian Government has decided to launch a national initiative on marine bioprospecting. And I am pleased to be here today to present our motivation for this strategy.

 To boost R&D, the Government intend to allocate approximately 30 million Norwegian kroner this year as initial funding .This conference will provide valuable input into this work. 

Why Bioprospecting?

Bioprospecting is a somewhat new term – but, as you know, it is not a new activity. Human beings have a long tradition for exploiting compounds from nature with medical effects and for other purposes.  

For instance: the beautiful but poisonous flower Purple Foxglove (Digitalis) has been exploited for more than 200 years and is now used as medication for heart failure. 

The therapeutic value of natural products has also received the attention of medical doctors and human health researchers for many years. Pharmacetuical companies have screened plant and microorganisms isolated from nature. A famous example from the Norwegian nature is the discovery of cyclosporine isolated from a fungus of Hardangervidda in 1969.  Cyclopsporin is a drug approved for use in organ transplantation to prevent graft rejection. It has changed the face of transplantation.  

Another example is the important anti-cancer drug Taxol which was discovered when thousands of plant species were screened for potential anticancer activity. In fact, it is estimated that approximately 30% of drugs currently in use were originally derived from terrestrial plants and animals. 

In marine bioprospecting the scope of the search for valuable, biologically active compounds is organisms living in the sea. Oceans cover most of the earth's surface, and contain some of the largest ecosystems.  

The marine environment has received much less attention than its terrestrial counterpart in the search for valuable compounds. This is surprising considering that marine evolution has a 2.7 billion year head start over terrestrial environments.  

In fact, the natural products isolated from marine sources tend to be more highly bioactive than terrestrial counterparts.  

In the near future, marine bioprospecting efforts will not only focus on natural products from ocean plants, animals and microbes, but also on the potential of exploiting the information stored in the genomes of these organisms. This genome research may well prove to be instrumental in developing the next generation of pharmaceuticals for improving human and animal health. 

Norway – great potential of marine bioprospecting

Norwegian waters cover wide oceanic areas, with rich biodiversity of maybe 10,000 species and a varied spectrum of sub-sea ecosystems. The unique Arctic environment, in particular, promises to be increasingly important in the future. 

The combination of extreme temperature and special light conditions has led to the evolution of organisms with unique properties and potentially valuable bioactive compounds. The sea’s potential as a resource is largely untapped. 

This view is also shared by Dr. Craig Venter, the scientist famous for sequencing the human genome. Through his Global Ocean Sampling (GOS) Expedition, he has collected a vast number of marine microbes and genomes. And his interest extends, not least, to the Arctic sea. 

We anticipate that bioactive compounds from marine organisms will have a wide range of applications and they are expected to bring about improvements in many areas of society; from medicine, to food and feed, to eco-friendly industrial processes. 

If these expectations are realised, demand for such products will have great commercial potential and generate significant revenues. 

Ladies and gentlemen, before I move on, I would like to mention a few interesting examples: 

StatoilHydro – our largest energy company – has identified promising microbes that might improve oil production efficiency using products developed through marine bioprospecting. 

The Biotech Pharmacon company has developed several products from marine resources, including the well-known cold-adapted enzymes. The company has recently cloned and patented the gene for a novel anti-microbial compound produced by a marine organism. 

Among the audience today, I know that there are scientists searching for marine-based compounds to combat infection, heart disease and cancer as well as for industrial applications. Some very promising results are already being achieved. 

We will no doubt learn more about what marine bioprospecting may offer society from the other speakers. 

Implementing the Government’s strategies

In 2005 the Government declared that Norway would develop national strategies in five business areas in which it has natural advantages. These are the marine sector, the maritime sector, energy, the environment and tourism. 

In today’s globalised economy, Norway has to focus on doing what it does best. Our combination of natural resources and skills gives us a competitive edge in certain areas and the marine sector is undoubtedly one of those areas.

The Government will play its part by facilitating knowledge development and innovation.  In December last year, Norway’s first white paper on innovation policy was published. This sets out the Government’s aim of establishing favourable conditions for competitive enterprises throughout Norway. 

We need to pursue constant renewal if we are to remain competitive in a rapidly changing global economy, and we must dare to think in new ways to strengthen our natural advantages. 

And this certainly includes marine bioprospecting. Marine bioprospecting combines Norway’s long tradition of harvesting the sea with marine science and biotechnology. 

Commercialising bioactive compounds demand innovation. Indeed, a national initiative on marine bioprospecting fits very neatly into our overall strategy for an innovative and sustainable national economy. 

A strategy for marine bioprospecting is part of the Norwegian Government’s High North strategy which is one of our most important priorities for the years ahead. The Government’s overall objective is to create sustainable growth and development by combining the use of natural resources, environmental management, research and innovation. Extensive international cooperation is needed and genuinely appreciated. 

A national strategy – our motivations

Our aim is to develop commercial applications from research. So where do we go from here? How can we best realise the potential? 

We have received valuable input from both national and international experts. The Norwegian Research Council, Innovation Norway and The Industrial Development Corporation of Norway appointed an expert group in the autumn of 2007, which presented its findings in early 2008. The Government’s Expert Committee for the High North was chaired by rector Aarbakke has also contributed with helpful advice. 

Their assessments showed that there are scientific excellence, relevant research groups and infrastructure in Norway which justify a national investment in bioprospecting.  Supporting institutions and financial mechanisms are already established or in the pipeline. 

Some examples of this are the establishment of the MabCent Centre for Research-driven Innovation; the marine biobank Marbank and test laboratory Marbio; Nofima all situated here in Tromsø; the research activities in Trondheim and Bergen, and the technology platforms of FUGE, the national large-scale research program on functional genomics. 

Challenges

However, there is a long way from harvesting organisms, building marine biobanks, conducting analytical test programs with sufficient capacity and quality, doing research, to succeed in commercialization. 

In addition we have to take national and international regulations into consideration. 

There is no universally agreed legal definition of the term bioprospecting which of course poses problems for international agreement on provisions for access and benefit-sharing regimes under, for example, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). 

Some guidance will be provided by the Norwegian Marine Resources Act, which came into force on 1 January of this year. It states that all marine organisms in Norway’s national territory and economic zones are national property. 

The development of the strategy

I have together with the Ministry of Trade and Industry – a joint responsibility for developing the strategy of marine bioprospecting and this is expected to be launched later this year by the ministers of  Foreign Affairs, Research and Higher Education, Trade and Industry and Fisheries and Coastal affairs.

The strategy will cover supporting organizational and funding schemes including most of the value chain from basic research, to commercialisation and internationalisation. The strategy will also address the function and operation of a national marine biobank. 

Marbank is expected to have a key function in the national infrastructure of marine biobanks. It is naturally a national marin biobank.

I take pleasure in announcing today the allocation of initial funding of 5 million Norwegian kroner to Marbank. 

A key task for the Government is to identify suitable policy instruments for commercialisation. The recommendation of establishing a specific Commercial Unit for bioprospecting is interesting. We do find the issues addressed to be highly relevant and they are now being considered. At the same time the Government is concerned of existing structures; to take advantage of the experiences gained so far and stimulate further development. The universities must continuously focus on commercialisation, evaluate their systems and develop instruments to realise the commercial potential of their research. The Government will emphasize that private investment and commitment as well as public funding, are prerequisites for success. 

We also have to recognize the necessity of critical mass. As a small country, collaboration between the scientific communities nationwide is essential. Scientific excellence is another prerequisite for success. 

A good example of fruitful collaboration is the recently established Oslo Cancer Cluster, which is receiving international attention. Last summer it was identified as one of the world’s 9 most promising emerging biotech regions. 

This cluster comprises more than 50 members, including academic research institutions, health initiatives and support groups, industrial enterprises, including Biotech Pharmacon located here in Tromsø, and venture capital firms. A similar initiative is emerging here in Tromsø which I find very interesting is the Tromsø High North Cluster (THiNC). This organisation  will certainly strengthen the Tromsø region and should appear very attractive for cooperation. 

As a country, Norway on its own is not large enough to exploit the full potential. We stand a much greater chance of success by collaborating with international partners. 

The ongoing collaboration between the University of Tromsø and the University of Trondheim, Sweden’s Umeå University offers a good example of how we can work together. The Government has already made a commitment of 35 million Norwegian kroner for a period of 5 years as the Norwegian part of this collaboration. 

New contacts and alliances are established when people come together. That is one reason why conferences like BIOPROSP are so important. 

I would also like to emphasize that, although this is a strategy for marine bioprospecting, the Government recognizes the importance of bioprospecting on land and in inland waters. Relevant knowledge about species and habitats in Norway should be organised and integrated.

Indigenous peoples

I would also like to point out that a national investment in bioprospecting should compile the local knowledge of the indigenous peoples. The strategy will address these issues. The interests and rights of the indigenous people in this area must be guaranteed. 

Conclusion

Today and tomorrow, we will be seeking to gain a deeper understanding of the opportunities offered by developments in the field of marine biotechnology. Experts and researchers from leading universities and knowledge-based industries will demonstrate some of the possibilities and describe the promising prospects of this field. 

BIOPROSP 2009 is a timely conference. During times of economic uncertainty, we need to plan for the future. Marine bioprospecting or, more specifically, products generated from bioprospecting activities, have a great potential as an industry of the future. 

Nature has been generous to Norway. A large share of our national revenue comes from activities at sea. We have invested in the future by building expert research communities and the necessary infrastructure. With this combination in place, and through further development, we aim to take advantage of our unexploited marine biological resources. 

Public and private investment in Tromsø over many years has fostered a prosperous marine bioprospecting community. The Tromsø region has certainly proven to be a key location in this field. 

As I already have mentioned, the success of our efforts will in the long run depend greatly on our ability to cooperate nationally and internationally.  And cooperation is a two-way street: our national strengths will benefit our partners, and vice versa.

To conclude, I would like to wish you all fruitful discussions and a pleasant stay in the High North. 

Thank you!