Yali Friedman, distinguished biotechnology consultant and author of "Building Biotechnology," told the "International Conference on Biotechnology Enterprise and Investment" in Manila said the Philippines can start with an inventory of its technical experts and science works and start small with simple technologies.

"The key is to get stakeholders to drive the program from within. The stakeholders has got to take the lead, and government will support them eventually," said Friedman, chief knowledge officer of US-based biotechnology consultancy firm New Economy Strategies (NES), in a separate interview.

Identifying opportunities for synergistic collaborations and overcoming barriers impeding these advances deliver profound benefits with minimal investments, he said.

"We’re trying to do a project here because there’s a lot of potential in the Philippines. Beyond its (impressive) biodiversity, people here are very creative. They want progress," he said.

The country can start with big companies like San Miguel Corp. which can tap its existing waste materials to turn into products like power generation (biogas) for which it will have huge motivation to put up owing to substantial savings this can bring.

"It’s the last glamorous of all, but it has a profound impact. A lot of expensive chemicals and energies can be produced out of waste. It saves a lot of money for the company," Friedman said.

NES which also has a tie-up with UK’s Global Bioeconomy Consultants has spearheaded biotechnology innovation strategies for US governments and stakeholders’ groups— Kansas City, Philadelphia, Hawaii Life Sciences Council, US Department of Labor.

Like Hawaii for which NES did a Life Sciences Road Map, the Philippines can be an area where emerging epidemics and tropical diseases can be studied and be given solutions to in terms of drug manufacturing even as the country also has unique marine and agricultural resources, he said.

Eight countries known for agrarian, manufacturing, or industrial economies are now diversifying into biotechnology investments including India, Vietnam, and Brazil.

"Competition is fierce, stakes are high, and hesitation is not an option," said Friedman.

Amid high risks, he stressed the tremendous benefits of biotechnology which has lured 2-billion dedicated funding from government sources worldwide, and 7,000 companies 93 percent of which are privately-owned have focused on it.

A biotechnology industry is formed by clusters which are geographic concentrations of interconnected firms, specialized suppliers and providers, and related agencies.

In the Philippines, this may begin with tapping an expatriate network of Filipino scientists and technicians that can leverage on their foreign links. Tax incentives for repatriation and new business formation and subsidies should be introduced to encourage the putting up of industries.

Add value by forming alliances, develop immature assets, capture the value of foreign investments even to develop a self-sustaining innovation system , and avoid biopiracy are among Friedman’s advices.

The Philippines, he said, can also look for access to adjacent markets, funding, and talent like Hongkong which has a Western-friendly legal system and is a gateway for European and American companies to access mainland Chinese market.

IT can look at Puerto Rico’s model which has a duty-free trade with the US, has manufacturing and R&D incentives, and has become a venue for manufacturing of 60 percent of US’s pharmaceuticals.

Puerto Rico’s tax incentives have fostered over billion in manufacturing infrastructure.

"With increased exposure of Puerto Rico’s capacity to serve the competitive landscape against Singapore and Ireland, policymakers and business leaders sought tactics that addressed a sustainable model for global technology-driven economic development while serving the needs of future generations health care and quality of life," he said.

Without the encouragement in the Philippines to put up biotechnology firms locally, he said more scientists and discoveries will be commercialized elsewhere. But locating a biotechnology product from where it was developed will give ultimate advantage.

"Industrial biotechnology developers face a number of special challenges. The researchers behind the key technologies tend to be located outside of established biotechnology hubs, and the raw ingredients for industrial processes are located in rural areas. While often plentiful and inexpensive, the cost of transporting these raw ingredients can impact profitability of biotechnology ventures," he said.