Cloete Thomas E, Nel Louis H, Theron Jacques
Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa.
Trends Biotechnol. 2006 Dec;24(12):557-62. doi: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2006.10.009. Epub 2006 Oct 30.
Since adopting the National Biotechnology Strategy in 2001, the South African government has established several regional innovation centres and has put in place initiatives to encourage international partnerships that can spur internal development of life science ventures. This strategy seeks to capitalize on the high quality of research carried out in public research institutions and universities but is hampered, somewhat, by the lack of entrepreneurial culture among South African researchers due to, among other reasons, the expenses involved in registering foreign patents. Although private sector development is still relatively embryonic, start-ups are spinning out of universities and pre-existing companies. These represent a vital source of innovations for commercialization in the future, provided that the challenges facing the emerging South African biotechnology industry can be overcome.
自2001年采纳《国家生物技术战略》以来，南非政府已设立了多个区域创新中心，并出台举措鼓励建立国际伙伴关系，以推动生命科学企业的内部发展。该战略旨在利用公共研究机构和大学所开展的高质量研究，但在一定程度上受到阻碍，原因包括南非研究人员缺乏创业文化，以及注册外国专利所需的费用等。尽管私营部门的发展仍相对处于萌芽阶段，但初创企业正从大学和现有公司中涌现出来。倘若南非新兴生物技术产业所面临的挑战能够得到克服，这些企业将成为未来创新商业化的重要来源。
