Regional Variety of Biotechnology Development in Asia

Abstract

Today's biotechnology is widely regarded as a one of the most important sectors of the technology, a new wave of knowledge- based economy. It is characterized by innovation and a very fast pace of development, which is connected with the involvement of highly qualified specialists, research centers, varied sources of information, investments, as well as interconnections to guarantee the flow of information. Potentially, biotechnology has a wide range of applications, such as the food industry, production of genetically modified organisms, pharmaceutics, healthcare, detergents and bioremediation, forestry and agriculture. There is a huge variety in the world when it comes to the structure and space where the biotech development occurs. According to the collected data, there is an obvious dominant role of highly developed countries such as the United States and European countries: the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Sweden as well as Canada. Nevertheless the dynamic expansion of biotechnology occurs in new centers of biotech development in eastern European countries such as Lithuania and Slovakia as well as in Asian countries, including Turkey, India, South Korea and Japan. Furthermore, biotech development is determined by several factors. A distance from scientific centers, location of universities, financial sources and international cooperation must be taken into consideration. Country policies also come as the major determinants. With the Internet and common access to a very sophisticated piece of information and a very fast-developing technology, it's even easier for the biotech to make a step forward.