Joint Center for Bioethics, University of Toronto
First list of priority technologies to avoid looming ‘genomics divide’ between rich and poor countries
Millions of people in developing countries die each year from diseases that could be prevented or treated cheaply and easily in future through the development and use of a handful of biotechnologies, according to a study released today.
New procedures that enable faster, more accurate and affordable diagnosis of infectious diseases and genetically engineered vaccines could increase the length and quality of life of more than a billion people currently untouched by the biotechnology health revolution, the study finds.
The study, conducted by researchers at the Joint Centre for Bioethics (JCB) hosted at the University of Toronto, identifies the 10 genomic and other biotechnologies with the greatest promise of improving global health within a decade, particularly in the world’s poorer countries.
“Current inequities in global health present major ethical challenges to the international community,” said JCB director Dr. Peter Singer, a co-author of the study and program leader of the Canadian Program on Genomics and Global Health. “Genomics is described as a powerful new wave of health related life sciences energized by the human genome project. This study ranks the most promising tools being created by harnessing this knowledge, offering unprecedented opportunities to address the growing health divide between rich and poor countries.”
Entitled Top 10 Biotechnologies for Improving Global Health, the study represents the collective opinion of 28 eminent international scientists and experts (list appended) in genome-related technology and global health issues.
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