Session 6

Brief overview

Today’s lesson introduced Bio Business as a massive commercial activity that contributes to 25% of global GDP, and it is growing even bigger in the sectors like agriculture, healthcare, food and bio-technology.  We are also introduced to several key bio-business opportunities that will revolutionize the bio-business landscape, the way we live and interact with one and other. These opportunities are 1) Biomedical Bio Business, 2) Agri-Veterinary and Food Bio Business, 3) Environmental and Industrial Bio Business, 4) Life Sciences and Bio IT.

Innovations in the life sciences and biotech is growing rapidly because of our changing needs and developing technology that complements those needs. We then zoomed into the healthcare and biomedical sciences sector and discussed the key drivers.

As Singapore is faced with the problem of aging population and people are getting more affluent, it presents an opportunity where top quality healthcare services and wellness products will be much sought after. We should catch on the bandwagon of the healthcare revolution as more people are looking to maximise their well-being, finding complementary therapies and open to nutraceutical products etc.
Interesting observations:

1) It is interesting to note that BioBusiness does not solely represent the business of healthcare and medical technology, it also encompasses other commercial activities such as agriculture, food and R&D; anything that has to do with life sciences and its technology . In the chart presented in class, Global BioBusiness Market Size, different region of the world gained more on certain sectors compared to other sectors. For example, South and East Asia gained more in Agriculture (considering most of the countries depend on the agriculture sector for sustenance + profit), while USA reaped the most from Healthcare (US is the biggest spender on healthcare). Estimated global GDP in 2001 for BioBusiness is estimated at US$ 32,239.0 Billion, and I believe this figure has been climbing since then.

There are unlimited summit opportunities in the field of biobusiness, but we only focused on the biomedical and healthcare arena in this session.

We watched a cool video presented by Microsoft, about its vision of healthcare in the future. Some of the technological ideas include: speaking to healthcare practitioner on broadband (Tele-consultation), automatic monitor of body condition, e-wallet, reminder to take medication etc. In my opinion, some of the ideas can already be developed into reality given today’s technology, and I don’t think it will take long for other technologies to catch on and reshape the medical industry and how we perceive healthcare. What I find extremely interesting is the ability to tele-consult with a doctor because it saves alot of traveling and waiting time and will be more cost efficient. Number of patients to one doctor can increase, reducing the impact of shortage of health practitioner, at the same time, people living in the rural area can also have access to healthcare via this method.

2) Some key drivers of change in healthcare includes: Demographic and epidemiological change, translating R&D to real application, advances in IT and Bio-engineering tech, Changing consumer needs and demands. As people in developed countries are getting more affluent, they are less susceptible to communicable disease, however as their lifestyle is also more sedentary, there’s an increase of Chronic illnesses, such as heart and cerebrovascular  diseases.

The topic of obesity was discussed today and it is alarming to know that Obesity has become a major problem in the world. Doctors have often attributed this trend to unhealthy eating habits (fast food), and less time on physical activities. For example, China has the fastest growing overweight population with 25% of its population overweight, it is due to China’s 1 child-policy where children are more spoilt in all aspects, including their dietary choices.
Key takeaways: 

1) People from the more developed countries are moving from disease management to wellness management, and are embracing the notion that prevention is better then cure. This is a major opportunity for growth in the healthcare sector. Also, as research and development of medical technology advances (like stem-cell and tissue engineering, prosthetic and bionics, etc.) it will benefit and change the lives of so many people, as well as make lucrative profits for the bio-industry. The possibilities are endless. However, the rising cost of healthcare is an issue that has to be noted, because it would be unfair to only reserve good healthcare technology for the wealthy and neglect the rest. Hence development in health should take into account the provision of highest level of care at the lowest possible cost.

2) In the presentation by Rebekah, she posed a question that as future parents, would we want to find out about our babies’ disposition to certain illness, and had a stand that if parents knew, they can limit the potential of the child. I feel that it is our right to find out how to better care for our children should we know about certain disposition of illness, and at the same time, we should exercise freedom for our children to explore their (physical) talents but with extra caution. I think the most, just nurture other talents? Like painting or playing an instrument? However she has given  us a good perspective of the ethical implication that gene-mapping/sequencing can bring.

Ratings:
I would give the class a rating of 7.5/10 .