BioWorld International Correspondent

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Union has given strong backing to biotechnology's potential in the developing world in a submission last week to the World Trade Organization.

It tabled a plan to help developing countries reap benefits from what it terms "green gold used in biotechnology inventions." Rebutting the recent wave of criticisms of the merits of biotechnology, particularly in agriculture and in relations between developed and developing countries, the EU argued that countries rich in biological resources can reap benefits from biotechnology inventions that make use of their bio-resources.

The plan was set out in a concept paper to the Council for Trade-related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which met in Geneva Sept. 17-18 to pursue the development agenda agreed at the recent WTO Doha meeting. The EU plan made the case that the TRIPS agreement - which enables biotechnology inventions to be patented - is fully compatible with the new Convention on Biological Diversity, which is concerned with conserving biodiversity and its sustainable use. Instead of being a threat to developing countries, TRIPS can help resolve their concerns in the commercial exploitation of bio-resources, the EU said. The Convention on Biological Diversity recognizes states' sovereign rights over their biological resources and their right to have a fair share of the benefits from using them, the EU pointed out.

Announcing the plan, European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said, "Many complex ecosystems could be mines of green gold' - medicines, new crop varieties and other benefits for the entire world. It's only fair that the countries with such resources benefit from their exploitation. With today's move, the EU reaffirms its commitment to put development at the heart of the ongoing WTO negotiations."

The EU said that, as well as new drugs from plants known locally through traditional knowledge, disease-resistant or hardy crops are examples of the kind of resources that might be made available through patented applications.

Developing countries are concerned that the TRIPS agreement does not encourage companies seeking patents for biotechnological inventions to respect basic principles of the convention, such as the requirement to obtain permission from the source countries for biomaterial used in inventions, and the obligation to share the benefits with the country of origin. They argue that the absence of information on the geographical origin of biomaterial used in inventions makes it difficult for them to keep track of the commercial use of those resources or to check whether bio-prospectors have respected the principles of the convention. The EU's paper argued that this is a misconception, and that TRIPS and the convention can mutually reinforce each other.

One of the key proposals in the paper is a mechanism that would assist tracing of origin. The draft EU provision would create a new obligation on any applicant for a patent to disclose the geographical origin of any biological material resulting from bio-prospecting that was used in a biotechnology invention. The raw materials concerned are mostly concentrated in rain forests and other habitats still being explored for potent genetic resources, and the new provision would offer no direct benefit to the EU or EU companies. But the EU has taken up the matter as a gesture of solidarity with developing countries, in the hope of brokering a fair deal in the Doha development agenda for countries that want an interface between the TRIPS agreement and the convention.

No decisions were taken on the paper at the ministerial meeting in Geneva. Lamy's spokesperson, Maria Gonzalez, told BioWorld International after the meeting that it was welcomed as a contribution to the ongoing discussions over how to implement the Doha agenda. The next ministerial meeting will take place Nov. 14 in Australia, where it may be discussed further. But meanwhile, Gonzalez said, the EU is hoping that it will be the subject of technical discussions that continue at the expert level in working groups in Geneva.