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Gauteng targets biotech innovation

Tyson Ngubeni
By Tyson Ngubeni
Johannesburg, 17 Oct 2014
Government wants to commercialise SA's biotech innovation output.
Government wants to commercialise SA's biotech innovation output.

The Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is spearheading efforts to improve exports of bio-sciences products and services, as the province aims to expand its focus on biotechnology.

The department, along with life sciences incubator eGoliBio and the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA), this week announced the completion of the first phase of the BioPark facility which aims to boost the commercialisation of the country's biotechnology output.

Ben Durham, chief director for bio-innovation at the Department of Science and Technology, notes government needs a long-term outlook for SA's biotechnology sector to flourish. "It's not just about projects, but building support structures."

McLean Sibanda, CEO of the Innovation Hub, adds the hub will form part of the facility's strategic objectives to use innovation as a key driver of economic development for the region and the country.

Collaborative approach

According to the GGDA, the facility will look to boost biotechnology innovation in the health, agriculture and industrial sectors. The agency says companies of different sizes will be encouraged to collaborate in the development and commercialisation of solutions emanating from the country.

The Department of Science and Technology unveiled the SA bio-economy strategy earlier this year, noting it wanted to broaden the scope beyond biotechnology to encompass "the entire value chain in a range of areas of possibility and opportunity".

BioPark goals:

* Implement the Gauteng biotechnology strategy and the national bio-economy strategy.
* Expand local and export supply of biosciences products and services for economic growth and job creation.
* Position Gauteng as the gateway of agro-processed products to the rest of Africa and the world.
* Accelerate the agglomeration of biosciences at small to medium enterprises and big business in Gauteng.
* Strengthen Tshwane as an anchor for the biosciences cluster in Gauteng.
* Provide strategic economic infrastructure to facilitate the biosciences cluster development and collaboration by multiple helix partners (government, industry, academia, research).

In a move to improve innovation in the sector, the provincial Cabinet resolved to develop a business plan for the establishment of the BioPark in 2011. The province then formulated the Gauteng Innovation and Knowledge Economy Strategy to highlight biotechnology's importance for SA's economic development.

According to the GGDA, the facility will look to boost biotechnology innovation in the health, agriculture and industrial sectors. The agency says companies of different sizes will be encouraged to collaborate in the development and commercialisation of solutions emanating from the country.

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