Medicon Valley is rapidly emerging as one of Europe's dynamic centers of biotechnology and pharmaceutical development. It encompasses Skane in South Sweden and Copenhagen in Denmark, and is home to no less than 60% of Scandinaviaís biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. It employs 54,000 people in the medical industry, including 5,000 researchers.
Medicon Valley ranks number 3 in Europe in the biomedicine field, after London and Paris, and the region has the highest number of biotech companies per capita in the world. The combination of large international companies and small innovative companies which are connected to educational and research institutions, competitive support companies and co-operative public authorities is the base for Medicon Valley's strong international position.
Source: European Biopharmaceutical Review, autumn 2001, pp 8-9For more information, visit the IVTIP meeting, to be held in Copenhagen on April 29-30, 2002, where the Medicon Valley and selected companies will present themselves.
The IVTIP Secretariat received a complimentary copy of the Special Issue of Toxicology in Vitro, containing the papers presented at the INVITOX 2000 meeting. The Secretariatalso received a copy of the abstract book in pdf format.
You may request the IVTIP Secretariat for a copy of the pdf-file containing the abstracts.
The CEFIC legal department has carried out an in-depth analysis of the legal issues surrounding the White Paper on a Strategy for a Future Chemicals Policy.
CEFIC specialists believe that the White Paper should in particular respect the following points:
Source: CEFIC Spotlight, issue 66, autumn 2001
For more information, please contact Cyril Jacquet cyj@cefic.be
or Jean-Marie Devos jde@cefic.be
The ongoing work to produce a Globally Harmonized System (GHS) for classification and hazard communication of chemicals is nearing fruition. The GHS document has been handed over in December 2001 to the newly configured United Nations ECO-SOC Subcommittee of experts on the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (UN SCE GHS). The GHS now consists of all the elements necessary for a legislative framework: classification criteria for substances, classification criteria and methods for mixtures, and hazard communication elements labeling and safety data sheets.
The European Union has set up 7 Working groups; one of these will consider the European Union implementation of the GHS. CEFIC is planning a workshop to explain what GHS implementation will mean for individual companies.
For more information: Bill Machin CEFIC, tel + 32 2 676 72 77,
email: wma@cefic.be
Innovation in the chemicals industry has been stifled by excessive notification and test requirements in Europe since the introduction of the 6th amendment to the Dangerous Substances Directive (67/548/EEC). The industryís view was that the test requirements were too extensive for intermediates and should be more in proportion to the risks presented by substances in specific use category. Delegates of member states were of the same opinion and at the November 1999 Competent Authorities meeting, a technical proposal for a reduced test package for intermediates was endorsed. The package has now been implemented (see Official Journal L 225/1 21 August 2001).
In an open dialogue with industry, a working group of competent authorities is now exploring ways of reducing the disproportionate burden of testing for polymers derived from new monomers.
The Transatlantic Business Dialogue (TABD) as well as the OECD promote these important issues.
Source: CEFIC Spotlight, issue 66, autumn 2001.
Contact: Uta Jensen, tel + 32 2 676 72 13; email: uje@cefic.be
University of Pittsburgh scientists say that High Production Volume (HPV) chemicals may be less toxic than non-HPV chemicals.
Using structure-activity relationship modeling. HPV and non-HPV chemicals were screened to predict mutagenicity, acute and chronic toxicity, and environmental fate. The proportion of HPV chemicals predicted to be toxic is significantly less compared to the control set, with the exception of mutagenicity.
Source: Environmental Health Perspectives, vol 109, issue 9, 2001.
See also: http://ehis.niehs.nih.gov
The fundamental question raised by the endocrine disrupter issue is whether exposure to small amounts of chemicals in air, water and food can interfere with the hormonal systems of human and wildlife to cause adverse health effects.
The worldwide chemical industry's Long Range Research Initiative (LRI) is a targeted program aimed at
identifying knowledge gaps and outstanding questions;
monitoring current research;
implementing further research to fill the gaps;
establishing internationally harmonized testing methodologies in co-operation with international organizations;
providing a forum for discussion and development of further strategies to improve understanding of the endocrine disruption issue;
supporting all efforts to co-ordinate research and knowledge on the issue at EU and international levels.
Currently, LRI supports 21 projects in three main research areas:
Most projects run for a period of 1-3 years, the first having started in 1998.
LRI is co-ordinated globally by the International Council of Chemical Associations, representing most chemical industries and their associations worldwide.
For more information, see:
http://www.cefic.org/lri/emsg
SCAAT, the scientific working group of COLIPA, recently presented in Brussels a series of posters with concise, easy to read information about alternatives to animal testing. The SCAAT posters are also available as postcards. The following project descriptions are available:
in vitro testing of dermal absorption and percutaneous penetration of chemical substances (approved by OECD)
Breakthrough on skin corrosion testing:
(1) transcutaneous electrical resistance (now mandatory within the EU) and (2) human skin models (mandatory in the EU). Animal tests for skin corrosion are no longer permitted in the EU
3T3 Neutral red uptake phototoxicity test (mandatory within EU, under discussion at OECD)
For more information or copies, please contact COLIPA at COLIPA@colipa.be or ask the IVTIP Secretariat to order copies for you.
Recently, the Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Science has decided that research with chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans in The Netherlands should end. Research with smaller monkeys should be reduced, and the development of alternatives to animal experiments should be stimulated. No new research with these animals should be started, and ongoing hepatitis C virus studies will be allowed to finish. 46 of the 105 chimps will be replaced in zoos. Negotiations are underway to find proper housing for 29 chimps infected with HIV/Hepatitis C and 33 other chimpanzees.
For more information, see www.minocw.nl/english/press/2001-009.html
Firebombing animal rights protestor, Barry Horne, starved himself to death on November 5, 2001 in a hospital in Worcester, UK.
Meanwhile, the UK science minister gave strong support to plans for a new multimillion pound animal testing laboratory to be built for Cambridge University.
As a result of the 'Genomes for human health initiative' of the EC, a consortium of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and a number of other European Research centres will develop the next generation bio-informatics tools which will be used to further work out genomic material. For this initiative 19,4 million EURO is available.
Source: CF001040404/R4
Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin has called on EU member states to raise their total R&D spending to 3% of GDP. So far, only two member states (Finland and Sweden) come near the 3% level.
This is necessary in order to create an effective European Research Area. One third of this investment should come from public funds and two-thirds from industry. The recommendation is in the Commissionís report to the spring EU head of government meeting, due to take place in March in Barcelona.
Source: Research Europe, Number 114, January 24, 2002
The Spanish presidency will be concentrating on concluding discussion on the Framework 6 proposal which is expected to have its 2nd reading the European Parliament in April. In addition, the Spanish will strive to strengthen the role of innovation and to reinforce links bewteen scientific and industrial policies. Also, it will promote the role of R&D as the engine of sustainable and competitive growth.
Meanwhile, the Commission has revised the proposed rules for participation in FP 6, removing the chapter on new instruments and an annex on costing.
The Conference launching the FP6 programme, explaining the objectives and rules for participation, will be held on November 11-13, 2002 in Brussels
The European Commission is continuously looking for independent experts to evaluate research proposals. For details and how to appy, visit:
www.cordis.lu/expert-candidature/home.html
In the past, the expert application forms were very difficult indeed, putting many potential experts off. But now a redesigned interactive application form is available on the internet. It is a simplified form of only 2 pages!!!
In addition, registered evaluators can now modify and update their profiles online or via email. See also:
http://candidature.cordis.lu/expert-evaluators
If you are not participating in an EU project, and have sufficient scientific background, you can propose to become an independent expert monitoring the EU RTD programmes. This is: assessing the progress of implementation and whether objectives, priorities and financial resources are still appropriate. Deadline for the 2003 monitoring exercise: September 15, 2002.
For more information, visit:
www.cordis.lu/expert-monitoring/home.html
Calls for expression of interest for service contracts in the field of life sciences. Deadline May 31, 2004;
OJ S157-108696 of August 17, 2001, pp 50.
The European Science Foundation programme on functional genomics invites proposals for workshops to be held in 2002 or early 2003. Workshops can be proposed for any of the areas of the programme.
Contact: Annette Martin, tel + 44 1223 496 246.
Email: annette.martin@bbsrc.ac.uk.
web: www.functionalgenomics.org.uk
The European Commission invites proposals for the Descartes Prize, which will be awarded for outstanding achievements resulting from European collaborative research. All scientific fields are eligible. Deadline March 15, 2002.
Contact: European Commission, tel + 32 2 296 70 24. Web: www.cordis.lu/improving.
In the remaining months, the following Calls for Proposals are still open:
Deadline April 10: Quality of Life programme: Marie Curie Individual Fellowships
www.cordis.lu/life
Deadline April 17: Quality of Life programme: SME Measures
www.cordis.lu/life
Deadline June 12: Quality of Life programme: Accompanying measures
www.cordis.lu/life
Deadline April 17: Innovation programme: SME measures
www.cordis/lu/innovation-smes
Deadline April 15: Human potential programme: Raising public awareness of science and technology
www.cordis.lu/improving/
Deadline June 15: Human Potential Programme: S&T policy strategy, accompanying measures
www.cordis.lu/improving/
EU ministers failed to reach agreement on the Community patent by the end of December 2001, despite additional pre-Christmas meetings. Discussions now centre on whether to persevere with negotiations or offer a patent system that states can opt into.
The main stumbling block remains language and the cost of translation. The Belgian presidency had proposed that the system should allow patents in any of the official EU languages, with the costs of translation into the official European Patent Organization languages ñ French, German and English ñ to be met by the Community patent system. However, France and Germany in particular did not want to back this compromise, saying it had drifted too far from the original proposal and was no longer centralised and cost efficient. Since the Spanish presidency would like to approve a Community patent system, a decision is hoped for at the next meeting of EU internal market ministers on March 1.
Source: Research Europe, Number 114, January 24, 2002-02-27
Commissioner Busquin has set up a group of scientific experts on biological and chemical terrorism in response to a call from EU research ministers on December 10, 2001. The experts come from member state research and defence ministries and the Commission. A first progress report should be presented to research ministers on March 11, 2002. The group will look at questions of research linked to the detection and identification of biological and chemical agents and the prevention and treatment of attacks. An inventory will be made of research activities currently in progress and co-ordination options examined. Gaps in research will be identified.
Key research subjects are:
GM-free crops.
Source: EURActive News, February 15, 2002
Trade associations face a struggle if they want to influence EU policy makers. This gloomy conclusion was reached after interviews with 50 director-generals of EU trade groups and 150 members and non-members of the European Parliament. The interviewer found that political fragmentation of the Union means companies have lots of opportunities to lobby politicians and officials, thereby bypassing trade associations. In addition, some lobby groups also loose out on 'representativity' because a few big firms dominate them. Further, lobby groups suffer because the EU cannot licence certain groups as 'official and principal partners'. The result is that most business associations become just one of a number of channels of representation to political powerbrokers, and tend to organise themselves around very narrow common interests, explaining the presence of hundreds highly specialist associations, such as the 'natural sausage casing manufacturers association', just to name one.
Source: Inside the 'Trade Association'. Justin Greenwood.
Published by Palgrave: www.palgrave.com.
Reported in European Voice, October 10, 2001
Since 1884, the GRAM-stain, a cumbersome technique, has been used to distinguish between the two main classes of bacteria, GRAM + and GRAM -. Now, researchers in Rochester USA have developed a simple means of discriminating between the two classes, using silicon-based sensors. The researchers fabricated a silicon wafer coated with a molecule to could bind to lipid A, a liposaccharide abundant in the outer layer of Gram-, but not Gram +, bacteria. When lysed and applied to the silicon wafer, Gram- bacteria shifted the photoluminescence spectrum of the silicon, whereas Gram + bacteria did not.
Source: J. Am. Chem. Soc. Nov 1, 2001
Recently, the 3R Research Foundation of Switzerland published the results of a project on phenotype characterisation and welfare assessment of transgenic mice. The authors conclude that each newly created transgenic strain has the potential to cause poor health and suffering in the animal. Nevertheless, transgenic animals may represent a refinement in comparison to some other traditional experimental models of disease, in which the animal bears a heavy load of suffering. Therefore, the aim of the project was to develop a standardised questionnaire for the characterisation of transgenic strains and a set of systematic score sheets to monitor the health of individual animals at different life-stages on a routine basis. The characterisation sheet developed is feasible for routine use as a standardised procedure and will increase scientific accuracy and efficiency in the laboratory. The authors recommend that transgenic animals should always be accompanied by their score sheet and strain characterisation. Up to now, a lack of awareness of the problem and a lack of supporting regulations has prevented such a procedure from becoming standard. This, however, is expected to change in the future.
Source: 3R Info Bulletin, no 19, January 2002.
For more information and viewing of the complete forms in pdf format: http://www.bzl.unizh.ch/de/database/formtransg/index2.html
See also: www.forschung3r.ch
Many cloned animals seem to suffer from obesity, respiratory problems en circulatory abnormalities. According to researchers from Advanced Cell Technology, this is not the case for cloned cows. The scientists cloned 30 cows; 6 died at birth, the other 24 were perfectly normal. The scientists attribute earlier reports of immunological and genetic differences to species differences or to other cloning techniques.
Source: Bionieuws Nov 24, 2001
Note: It has been demonstrated that the cloned sheep Dolly, who is still quite young, is suffering from arthritis. It is unusual for a young sheep to suffer from arthritis.
Source: news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1742000/1742838.stm
Californian company Incyte Genomics will stop with the production of DNA chips. Reason: the production no longer fits the business model and many institutes are making their own micro-arrays.
Company Agilent, also producer of micro-arrays, has acquired the patent portfolio of Incyte Genomics and is developing a universal bioinformatics platform.
Source: BioNieuws Nov 24, 2002
The first biological product marketed by Dutch tissue company Isotis is called CellActive Skin. The product is available to twelve German, Austrian and Swiss hospitals. The product is an intermediate step toward a fully reconstituted skin containing a dermis and epidermis.
Source: BioNieuws Nov 24, 2001
This site features developments in European science, under thematic heading such as ëagricultureí. Easy to understand style with technical blends. Visit:
www.Europa.eu.int/comm/research/news-centre/index_en.html
It is not easy to keep timely track of European policy news or funding opportunities. The bi-monthly publication Research Europe (695 EUROs) will help you along. Highlights from the publication, as well as daily news and jib opportunities from and in the UK, is now available on-line at:
www.ResearchResearch.com
The BBA can help you to get ready for the 6th Framework Programme, to find appropriate collaboration and partners in Europe, and prepare applications to the E.C. The EuropaBio SME project database is available on www.bba-bio.be/smes/index2.asp
Recently, the IVTIP Secretariat received a 2002 calendar, featuring all Bioscience in Europe events planned by EMBO. Here we give a shortlist of activities selected for IVTIP members. For full information, please view the EMBO website at: www.embo.org
Crystallization of macromolecular complexes.
April 8-13. Practical Course, EMBL, Grenoble, France
Mass spectrometry in proteomics,
April 15-26. EMBO course, Havana, Cuba
The functional organization of the cell nucleus,
April 18-21, Workshop, Prague, Chech Republic
Conference on Prokaryotes in the 3rd millennium: actions and effects of molecular machines,
April 26-30. EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Automated macromolecular structure solution,
May 9-16. Practical Course, EMBL Heidelberg
Cell death across kingdoms,
May 11-15. Jooint CNRS Jacques Monod/EMBO workshop, Roscoff, France
Genetics after the genome,
May 16-19. Special EMBO workshop, Brno, Czech Republic
Genetic recombination and the maintenance of genome stability,
May 27-31. Workshop, Seillac, France
Functional genomics using high density oligonucleotide arrays,
June 15-21. Practical course, Aarhus, Denmark
Molecular and genetic tools for the analysis of medaka and zebrafish development,
July 21-31. Practical course, EMBL, Heidelberg
Multidimensional NMR in structural biology,
August 11-16. Practical course, Il Ciocco, Lucca, Italy
Ribozymes and RNA catalysis,
August 23-27. Workshop, Dundee, UK
DNA Microarrays: applications and data analysis.
September 14-21, Practical Course, EMBL Heidelberg
The biology of heat shock proteins and molecular chaperones,
September 25-29, Lecture Course, Warsaw, Poland
Frontiers of molecular biology,
October 11-15, EMBO members workshop, Oslo, Norway
Joint EMBL/EMBO Science and Society Conference,
November 15-17. EMBL Heidelberg
Protein expression, purification and crystallization,
December 4-11, Practical Course, EMBL Hamburg
Sectoral meeting in immunology,
date to be announced, EMBO, Heidelberg
A number of interesting conferences and workshops is coming up. Of all the events mentioned here, the detailed programmes and registration/application forms are available from the IVTIP secretariat.
Organization: www.imm.ucsd.edu
Organization: Netherlands Biotechnological Society; Congress Secretariat: + 31 317 482 954;
fax: + 31 317 482 237; email: nbv.wessels@algemeen.pk.wau.nl
Organization: minfo@nyba.org
Organization: Biotech Israel 2002 Congress Secretariat, Tel Aviv.
Tel: + 972 35 14 0000; fax: + 972 35 17 56 74; web:www.kenes.com/biotech
Organization: Institut Pasteur Euroconferences. Fax: + 33 1 40 61 34 05. www.pasteur.fr/applications/euroconf
Organization: IVTIP Secretariat. Email: IVTIP@IVTIP.org
Organization: Ernst & Young Association Management, Tel: +32 2 774 9610,
Fax: +32 2 774 9690 Email: euro.conference@eyam.be or visit the website
www.ey.be/euroconference
Organization: BBA and the Danish Chamber of Commerce, Denmark, the Danish Export Council and the Danish Embassy. Registration atwww.bba-bio.be/pages/danish_forum_290502.asp
Organization: BIO NY
Organisation: Mr. Stephen Meulebroeck, email: pdk@las.vet.uu.nl
Organization: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
MD EC-17; P.O.Box 12233
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
tel. 919-541-7997; fax 919-5410947
stokes@niehs.nih.gov
http://iccvam.niehs.nih.gov
Organisation: COLIPa@Colipa.be
Organisation: American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapy, tel + 1 301 530 7060
Organization: IBC. See:
www.drugdisc.com
Organisation: The Alternatives Congress Trust. Tel + 1 301 548 7771;
email: worldcongress@bring.com
or fourthworldcongress@starpower.net
Organisation: Ms Alicia Druga, tel + 36 1 169 14 25; fax: + 361 169 3229
Organization: ESTIV, email: floestiv@tiscalinet.it
or invitox@iss.it
Organization: DG Research, tel + 32 295 99 71; fax: + 32 2 295 82 20;
email: rtd-conference2002@cec.eu.int;
web: http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/conferences/2002
Organization: Finish Bioindustries/Sitra/Tekes. Tel: + 358 917 28 43 14.
Web: http://www.biotechhelsinki.com
Organization: ESACT, www.esact.org
+ 34 932 388 777
Organization: ECB11, Tel + 41 61 686 28 28; fax: + 41 61 686 21 85;
email: info@ecb11.ch; web: www.ecb11.ch
Organisation: University of Tampere, Ms Hanna Tahti, tel + 358 3215 6672;
fax: + 358 3215 6170;
email: blha-ta@uta.fi; web: www.uta.fi/fst