Efforts by the Japan Biological Informatics Consortium (JBIC) to develop clinical bioinformatics are premature, according to analysts in Tokyo. The country's insistence on playing scientific catch-up coupled with the political heritage of such consortia means that JBIC is little more than a distributor of funds to large companies. Even independent efforts in this area could be thwarted in a country that is ill equipped for clinical genetic research.
JBIC was created as part of an effort by the Ministry for Economics, Trade, and Industry (METI; Tokyo) to revitalize the domestic biotechnology industry and help Japanese corporations enter the genomics era. JBIC was set up in November 1998 under the umbrella of the Japan Biotechnology Association (JBA), supported by several large companies, including Mitsubishi Chemical, Hitachi, and Fujitsu, and incorporated as a non-profit organization last July. The consortium is focused on bioinformatics tools for research and diagnostics, but its mission also encompasses the development of electronic commerce tools for the biotechnology industry. “This is going to be an exciting year for bioinformatics in Japan”, insists Yukio Matsuura, general manager in the planning division of JBIC. He says the intermingling of software vendors, device manufacturers, and biotechnology companies in a single consortium is likely to boost the Japanese bioinformatics industry.
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