Minutes following the joint announcement by US President George W. Bush and British Prime Ministry Tony Blair of completion of the Human Genome Project on 26 June 2000, scientists around the world knew that a major shift was upon us. Whether working in public or private research institutes or the laboratories of pharmaceutical companies, they have since been rushing to utilise the project’s findings to bring new benefits to mankind. They all hope to succeed in discovering treatments for currently incurable diseases now that they are no longer impaired by limited knowledge of human genes. As the understanding of our genes grows, these researchers anticipate the introduction of gene therapies and the creation of new drugs and vaccines for cancers (the major causes of death for Thais) and other illnesses such as diabetes, high blood pressure, neurological diseases and aging.
Life sciences technology is a young industry that is already playing an important role in global economic growth. The technology is likely to continue advancing quickly as many developed countries prioritise investments in the sector, especially in such fields as genetic information, nanotechnology and pharmacogenemics due to the potential profits from the new treatment options anticipated to materialise.
Industrialised countries are not alone. Developing nations like China, India, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam also see similar potentials and have invested heavily in life sciences hoping to boost their economies. In 2003, the APEC Life Sciences Innovation Forum was founded to foster regional cooperation to accelerate life sciences development. Today this potential appears even stronger. Ernst & Young reported that the life sciences industry generated US$73.5 billion in 2006, and investments in the field had grown 42 per cent that same year.
For Thailand, the government issued a royal decree on 18 June 2004 establishing the Office of Knowledge Management and Development, an umbrella of seven independent organisations including the Thailand Centre of Excellence for Life Sciences (TCELS). The objectives were to build the country’s life sciences infrastructure, select and develop the necessary technology, and to manage and stimulate the life sciences industry. Six months later, on 29 December, the President was appointed and TCELS was brought into action.
TCELS’s Chairman Professor (Emeritus) Pornchai Matanhkasombat, who played a crucial role in establishing the organisation, noted then that TCELS is Thailand’s hope to move the country forward in the fast-growing, global life sciences for health industry.
1. Create, develop, improve, and increase efficiency to add value to Thai pharmaceutical and life sciences products and services.
2. Create and expand a cooperative network for development and investment in life sciences for health.
3. Promote and support investment and joint investment in life sciences in Thailand.
Vission
TCELS is dedicated to make Thailand a World-Class Center for Life Sciences Research and Investment which is in line with our goal to uplift and promote life sciences competition in the business sector. TCELS will be a focal point to develop the manufacturing process, quality products and services in life sciences.
Mission
1. Undertake strategic planning for life sciences business and investment in Thailand.
2. Support development of life sciences pharmaceuticals and other products and services.
3. Create a network of government agencies, organisations, institutes and private sector interests inside and outside the country.
4. Monitor industry progress and identify life sciences business and investment opportunities for government agencies, organisations and institutes.
5. Support capacity building for Thailand’s life sciences professionals.
6. Serve as a centre for life sciences coordination in Thailand.
Thailand has had an established role in science and technology arenas for two decades. We are a small country with many areas of strength. We have had numerous research programmes scattered around the country, hidden in university laboratories, private companies or state agencies, that with additional support had the potential to advance their work to generate products suitable for commercial production. All that was required was the establishment of a central agency to help coordinate and develop these programmes while also creating incentives for foreign investment.
TCELS was established and groomed with the government’s hope that it would provide this missing link: to be the country’s central organisation creating incentives and searching for partners locally and internationally from among technologists, investors and businessmen. TCELS was to be a leap forward for Thailand life sciences, particularly life sciences for health and medical life science: creating investments, products and services within these areas throughout Thailand.
Some may ask if it’s too soon for a small developing country like Thailand to embark into a new industry with such complicated science and technology. The answer lies simply with another question: if we do not start today, how can Thailand keep pace with this rapidly expanding technology? The world has just entered the genomic era and every country is building its life sciences infrastructure. By attempting to keep pace with developed countries now, we minimise the distance necessary to catch-up in the future, and avoid the potential to be left behind altogether.
While Thailand may not invent many of its own life sciences technologies, in must nonetheless ensure its own infrastructure is ready to help bring other products to market once conditions around the world are ripe.
“The role of TCELS is to prepare the country’s infrastructure and to create innovation to keep pace with other countries. Asia is the heart of many things, including the world’s production base. The region is also the most heavily populated part of the world, the markets that go along with it. Whatever you can make you can sell. So going forward we must realise that there will be new techniques, products and services. If we don’t start today, we cannot keep abreast of others,” says Kamchorn Palangkoon, TCELS’ Vice President for Research Support.
It is anticipated that over the long term TCELS will be financially self-sustained and able to create at least Bt1 billion in revenue for the country. TCELS will also bring national focus to the life sciences sector by implementation of the following strategy.