BIO 2023: Benefits of Collaboration in Biotech for Mexico

The BIO International Convention is the most important biotechnology event worldwide.  This year, Mexican parties continued to strengthen their potential to generate collaborations with different organizations around the globe. The summary of the key statistics from the 2023 edition in Boston include:

• 20,559 attendees

• 57,044 business appointments

• 73 countries

• 1,540 companies

For the second consecutive year, the Mexican government coordinated a solid and varied delegation to communicate a sample of the capacities that the country offers in science, technological development, technology transfer, clinical validation, manufacturing, startups, business collaboration, and specialized services with the participation of 23 organizations, whose services and products can be found here.  https://biomexico.org/

Previously In this space, we mentioned the challenges the Mexican innovation ecosystem faces due to the absence of an integrated national strategy as well as the reduction of government investment in science and technology. However, participation of the federal government in this event, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is a clear example that once common and ambitious purposes are defined, collaborative initiatives can be created to positively impact a specific sector, as well as the organizations that comprise it. At the BIO event, the goal was to showcase the diversity and high quality of Mexico’s biotechnology innovation ecosystem. When one possesses these characteristics, one has fertile ground to develop collaborations and attract international projects.

For the second consecutive year, after the 2022 edition in San Diego, the intervention of the government in collaboration with academia and the private sector made it possible to communicate at a national and international level that the value chain is strengthening and that it can provide solutions to the needs that companies in the sector may have when entering the national market or that it can improve their competitiveness.  However, this example of effective collaboration cannot be limited to an annual conference; complementary actions must be sought in different areas to facilitate the consolidation of the biotechnology innovation ecosystem at both the  regional and international levels.

The Jalisco delegation, coordinated by Pragmatec and the Jalisco Medical Cluster with state support, provided a solid example of such collaboration. The financing to facilitate a presence at international events, a clear definition of the value propositions of the organizations of the Jalisco delegation, and a focused search strategy allowed five organizations (one university, one research center, one CRO, and two biotechnology companies) to have 42 work meetings with organizations from 17 countries: Spain, the US, Mexico, Canada, Italy, Japan, Estonia, Lithuania, Germany, China, India, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, France, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Fostering this number of collaborations in the biotechnology innovation ecosystem can bring various benefits to the various organizations that make up this ecosystem.

Biotechnology is complex and multidisciplinary, so collaboration at the level of science, technological development, and innovation between scientists and experts from different disciplines facilitates the exchange of knowledge and skills to solve problems effectively, speeding up scientific advancements and their impact on society. Biotechnology also requires specialized and expensive infrastructure ( well-equipped laboratories, production facilities, for example) that can stop the development of innovative projects, so collaboration between different organizations focused on the development of science in biotechnology allows sharing costs and capabilities as it is unlikely a single organization will possess all the necessary resources. The research consortium created in Mexico between UNAM and ITESM to strengthen the country's scientific and technological ecosystem is an example.

By increasing the link between academia and industry, specific information is shared about the challenges that the industry faces to create new products and technologies to meet the current and future needs of the market. Sharing resources, knowledge, and experience facilitates the development of new biotechnological solutions that can be transferred from universities to industrial players to address challenges in health, agriculture, or the environment. Such is the case of the collaboration between UC Berkeley and Novartis to develop therapies based on CRISPR-Cas9, focused on the treatment of genetic diseases.

Collaboration also increases the impact of biotechnology on humans. Great challenges that people face today are related to incurable diseases, food safety, and sustainable environment.  Innovative, feasible, and accessible solutions in biotechnology will improve the quality of life around the world.  The collaboration between Pfizer and BioNtech for the generation of a vaccine for COVID-19 allowed the technological development of a solution in less than a year, significantly limiting the number of casualties globally.

However, it is important to recognize that collaboration in biotechnology has challenges that must be taken into account so that they do not affect the expected results.  A very relevant one is related to competition between organizations and their intellectual property mechanisms, particularly in a complex and competitive scientific discipline.  This scenario can prevent the exchange of information or resources between actors and, as a result, damage the competitive advantage of the strategic ally.  Therefore, the greatest possible clarity must be established in the collaboration agreement as well as in the rights of commercial exploitation of the technology to generate equitable benefits for the participants.

Collaboration between organizations of different types and sizes generate cultural and organizational challenges such as language barriers, individual versus collective goals, and administrative processes, which can, in turn, bring about tensions and create obstacles between the different teams.

Various areas of research and technological development in biotechnology face important challenges at the level of regulatory and ethical approval, hindering collaboration between organizations.  Some examples include genetic therapy, cloning, genetically modified organisms, and access to genetic data.  The application of regulatory standards and ethical interpretation varies between countries, between organizations, and between people, generating further disagreements and obstacles to collaboration.

The BIO 2022 and 2023 events are examples of effective collaboration focused on communicating the capabilities and experience of the participating organizations by the Mexican delegation.  The next steps will have to focus on generating deeper collaboration to promote innovation in biotechnology by addressing the challenges present in this discipline.