Douglas Conor M W, Stemerding Dirk
Technology Assessment, Rathenau Institute, 2593 HW The Hague, The Netherlands ; Collaborations for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, 2405 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3 Canada.
Technology Assessment, Rathenau Institute, 2593 HW The Hague, The Netherlands.
Syst Synth Biol. 2013 Sep;7(3):139-50. doi: 10.1007/s11693-013-9119-1. Epub 2013 Jul 20.
Synthetic biology (SynBio) is a global endeavour with research and development programs in many countries, and due (in part) to its multi-use characteristics it has potential to improve global health in the area of vaccine development, diagnostics, drug synthesis, and the detection and remediation of environmental toxins. However, SynBio will also concurrently require global governance. Here we present what we have learnt from the articles in this Special Issue, and the workshop we hosted in The Hague in February of 2012 on SynBio, global health, and global governance that generated many of the papers appearing here. Importantly we take the notion of 'responsible research and innovation' as a guiding perspective. In doing so our understanding of governance is one that shifts its focus from preventing risks and other potential negative implications, and instead is concerned with institutions and practices involved in the inclusive steering of science and technology towards socially desirable outcomes. We first provide a brief overview of the notion of global health, and SynBio's relation to global health issues. The core of the paper explores some of the dynamics involved in fostering SynBio's global health pursuits; paying particular attention to of intellectual property, incentives, and commercialization regimes. We then examines how DIYbio, Interactive Learning and Action, and road-mapping activities can be seen as positive and productive forms of governance that can lead to more inclusive SynBio global health research programs.
合成生物学是一项全球性事业，许多国家都有相关研发项目，并且（部分）由于其多用途特性，它在疫苗研发、诊断、药物合成以及环境毒素检测与修复等领域具有改善全球健康的潜力。然而，合成生物学同时也需要全球治理。在此，我们介绍从本期特刊文章以及我们于2012年2月在海牙举办的关于合成生物学、全球健康和全球治理的研讨会中学到的内容，本期许多论文都源自该研讨会。重要的是，我们将“负责任的研究与创新”这一理念作为指导视角。这样一来，我们对治理的理解是，其重点从防范风险及其他潜在负面影响转变为关注那些参与将科学技术朝着社会期望成果进行包容性引导的机构和实践。我们首先简要概述全球健康的概念以及合成生物学与全球健康问题的关系。本文核心探讨了促进合成生物学全球健康追求所涉及的一些动态因素；特别关注知识产权、激励措施和商业化机制。然后，我们考察了如何将生物黑客、互动学习与行动以及路线图活动视为治理的积极且富有成效的形式，这些形式能够促成更具包容性的合成生物学全球健康研究项目。
