China’s Gene Therapy Investment

Posted on October 12, 2006  Comments (1)

We have recently added a new blog to our offerings: the Curious Cat Investing and Economics Blog. For those of you interested in those topics I hope you will give it a try.

Our favorite economics radio (pre-podcast technology) show is Marketplace from National Public Radio. Today they have a story on China’s commitment to gene therapy as a economic strategy to get in on a potentially huge market: China bounds ahead in gene therapy.

This is happening at a time of conservatism toward gene therapy in the United States. Investment in the U.S. slowed after an 18-year-old Pennsylvania boy died in a gene therapy trial seven years ago. His parents filed a lawsuit. The Food and Drug Administration put other trials on hold.

Patients in China are less likely to file lawsuits, and Chermak says Chinese regulators are more open-minded to new treatments. They see the slowdown in the United States as an opportunity to get ahead.

At the same time, a lot of Chinese researchers who studied in the U.S. are returning home because in China, you can get much more bang for your research buck.

This is an example of the future we discuss in: Diplomacy and Science Research

Related: China’s Economic Science ExperimentChina Builds a Better InternetChina challenges dominance of USA, Europe and Japan

One Response to “China’s Gene Therapy Investment”

  1. Edinburgh University $115 Million Stem Cell Center
    January 15th, 2007 @ 11:37 am

    […] “The Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine (SCRM) is thought to be equalled only one in Kobe, Japan.” […]

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