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EUR 18593: Survey on the current status of 'Genomes' research in the European Union |
Introduction
This report published in February 1999 comes from the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee on Coordination of RTD Policies of the Biomedical and Health Research Programme of DG XII. Although this report covers medical aspects to a large extent, it also includes some information of national activities relating to plants, fungal pathogens and nematodes, that will be of interest to those involved in plant improvement and inputs to agriculture. In addition it contains some information on national and EU policies in relation to ethical, legal and patent issues. The draw backs to this report are the lack of an index and lack of uniformity in layout, content and depth of presentation in the contributions covering the various Member States. This requires the information to be searched out, page by page, as has been done with the following information abstracted from the book.
Background
Research into genomes is becoming increasingly multi- and inter-disciplinary. Although in some Member States there are national or nationally organised genome research programmes, Europe will have to strengthen its efforts and co-ordinate its relevant RTD activities in order to fulfil its unique potential in this area. Better co-ordination in genome research will place European science and technology in a singularly favourable position for the starting postgenomics era. Building a critical mass in this area will increase Europe's attractiveness as an RTD base for young scientists presently working outside Europe. In addition, it will help Europe to become an active participant in the developing global biotechnology industry with foreseeable short and long-term impacts on employment and innovation.
The legal mandate of this survey derives from Article 165 of the "Amsterdam Treaty" that stipulates that "The Community and the Member States shall co-ordinate their research and technological development activities so as to ensure that national policies and Community policy are mutually consistent. In close co-operation with the Member States, the Commission may take any useful initiative to promote the co-ordination referred to in the paragraph" cited above.
The BIOMED Ad Hoc Advisory Committee on Coordination of RTD Policies, a sub-committee to the parent BIOMED 2 Programme Committee, together with the European Commission agreed to take action in order to review the current status of "genomes" research in Europe and to report to the Scientific and Technical Research Committee advising the Council of Ministers and the European Commission (CREST). The principal purpose of this review is to contribute to an improved awareness of ongoing activities in genomes research, to an improved focus on research recommendations and to a more effective co-ordination of research in this field. This in turn should be of mutual benefit to people, the health care field, the researchers, technology development, and industry.
At the time the work was put together, the European Commission was in the process of preparing the Fifth Framework Programme and the hope is expressed that new knowledge and technologies deriving from this programme will promote the exploitation of genomic information. At the same time collaboration in this area should underpin the development of expression systems to facilitate the study of genes of industrial and agronomic interest as well as the design of effective molecular and gene-based preventive and therapeutic strategies for human and animal disease.
Methodology
In order to achieve the stated goals this survey concentrated on an overview of genomes-related research in EU Member States (MS), including in addition two EEA countries (Norway and Iceland). 'Genomes research' in the context of this survey was defined as research on the human genome or other organisms with relevance to human health. The intention was to collect, in a consistent format, information on national and EU Commission programmes, strategies and priorities. Thirteen Member States (except Greece and Luxembourg) appointed National Contact Persons who met to approve the project plan in April 1998 and a standardised questionnaire that included the following areas:
Complete reports were received from 15 countries plus the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL): Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and UK. Executive summaries of these reports form the bulk of the report, copies of the complete reports are made available through the relevant National Contact Points, as listed in the report.
The present survey was prepared at the end of a century when science is being approached as a territorial domain not just of countries or continents but also of multinational or single nation companies. Competition, is praised and encouraged. The reports received reflect, in some aspects, that dominance of a territorial spirit, that has precluded entries covering some organisations and some countries.
An analysis of the purely quantitative aspects of the national reports showed that genomes and genetics research in Europe falls within several major areas: 'Chromosomes', 'Human Diseases', 'Animal Models of Human Diseases' (including, chicken, dog, fugu, guinea pig, mouse, rat and zebra fish), 'Animals of Consumer Relevance (including cattle, fish, pig, poultry, rabbit and sheep), 'Model Organisms' (such as yeast, Drosophila and C. elegans). Although this quantitative analysis/sampling was considered insufficiently accurate to be made public, it proved a valuable tool for the rapporteur to detect common points among the responses from the different Member States. In addition, statements by individual scientists proved also a valuable component of the main findings.
Main Findings
In general, the survey reflects greater social than economical concerns among European scientists and funding agencies. In the case of the human genome - the focus of this report being intended to summarise research on genomes - some researchers and funding agencies responded in such a way that in Europe it is difficult to separate genome research from human genetic disorders. Similarly, characterisation of pathogen genomes is seen as a means to achieve better understanding of mechanisms of infection and to design new, more exact strategies of treatment. It is difficult to discern a deep sense of competitiveness among European scientists in comparison with US scientists, although many European groups have established scientifically successful working collaborations with US groups in this field. It is felt that European Union Member States should have a funding policy specific for recruiting back top European scientists presently working in the US.
Recommendations
From the analysis of this survey it becomes evident that lack of focus and precise definition of goals may have hindered the success of many investments and diminished the cost benefit ratio of many measures adopted. When the goals have been clearly defined and focused with adequate funding European research has been successful and competitive like in the Yeast Sequencing Project. The data of the present survey indicate clearly that indeed there is room for co-ordination.
The following areas were recognised by the Members of the AHAC Committee as of particular importance for co-ordination:
Technology development The suggestion was made that technology development should be the target of a special call for proposals.
Diseases Research on genomes that contribute to the understanding of the heterogeneity of expression of common and rare human diseases.
Model organisms Structural and functional genomics of model organisms which have proven highly suitable for the identification of genetic pathways relevant in human pathogenesis and pharmacogenetics.
Bioinformatics Accessibility to sequencing data either from the various model organisms or from patients' CDNA collections has to be ensured. In addition the Organisation of net- works collecting data has to be improved.
Training Individuals having a broad expertise in scientific, technical and legal aspects of biotechnology, including genome research and bioinformatics, will be essential both in research and legislative structures. There is a need to ipcrease multidisciplinary training. This may require short-term fellowships for exchange between different Member States and European laboratory initiatives. Main centres for training should be listed and tentative programmes should be established.
Intellectual property There is an urgent need for a clear European directive on intellectual property designed to ensure rapid accessibility to information while protecting inventors' rights in the case of industrial exploitation.
Further information
The report may be obtained from The Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, L-2985 and the usual national outlets, such as government and other book shops.
The details are:
Survey on the current status of 'Genomes' research in the European Union, by the Ad Hoc Committee on Co-ordination of RTD policies - Biomedical and Health Research Programme. ISBN 92-828-6617-3, EUR 18593.
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