Encourage businesses to participate in the National Research Program

Views expressed by many managers and scientists at the conference “Promoting research and application of science and technology in the fields of medicine, pharmacy and biotechnology” organized by the Office of State Key Programs, Ministry of Science and Technology in Ho Chi Minh City, September 20.

Mr. Luu Quang Minh, Deputy Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Economic and Technical Sectors, Ministry of Science and Technology, said that Resolution 36 of the Politburo issued in early 2023 aims to make Vietnam a developed biotechnology industry in the world, a center of smart production and services in biotechnology among the top in Asia. The biotechnology industry is focused on building it into an important economic sector, contributing to the national GDP. On this basis, the Ministry of Science and Technology advised the Government to issue 14 national science and technology programs and 20 programs signed by the Minister of Science and Technology.

According to Mr. Minh, the proposed tasks selected for implementation are not high because they do not meet practical application requirements and requirements for industry and regional linkages. He hopes to receive the support of scientists and businesses to successfully implement the goals of the biotechnology industry.

According to Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, Director of the Department of Science, Technology and Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in the period 2005 – 2020, the agricultural sector carried out 279 tasks with a budget of about 36 million USD. “This funding source is less than 1/3 of the scale of a multinational corporation investing in research in a year,” she said, but the participation of businesses in research topics serving commercialization activities is lacking.

According to Ms. Thuy, in many developed countries, the state budget only supports the research and development (R&D) phase and start-up projects. The continued expansion of research products into practice requires the participation of businesses, with the role of investing in commercialization activities and building product development strategies. However, in Vietnam, “there is currently no specific mechanism attractive enough for businesses to invest in research”. Many businesses are limited in scale, so they cannot ensure investment in research, which is long-term.

In addition, according to Ms. Thuy, the current legal framework for biotechnology applied in agriculture is not yet synchronized. As for gene editing technology, it is currently only regulated for the group of crops, while there are no specific regulations for the group of livestock and microorganisms. She assessed that legal issues are one of the pillars for scientists and businesses to think about investing in research and developing technology through testing and research for application in production.

Professor Le Huy Ham, Head of the Biotechnology Application and Development Research Program for the 2021 – 2030 period (KC.12/21-30), agrees that currently, businesses rarely participate in projects because they are not interested in or investing much in technology. On the other hand, according to Professor Ham, some businesses participate in research mainly for the purpose of sharing research costs, not really aiming at technology transfer and application. Therefore, the KC.12/21-30 program framework sets a target of 50% of tasks having businesses participate, over 20% of tasks being led by businesses to promote links between scientists and businesses.

Dr. Hoang Hoa Son, Department of Science, Technology and Training, Ministry of Health, said that for other industries, R&D activities can develop into commercialized products. However, research in medicine in general and medicine in particular requires a clinical trial evaluation process, after which it is licensed for production and circulation. In particular, vaccines, after being licensed, must continue to be monitored, inspected and evaluated. According to Dr. Son, drug research takes many stages, up to decades, with a very low probability of success and high investment costs. Therefore, in addition to the allocated budget, research units must cooperate internationally to increase research funding.