About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

22 Sing. L. Rev. 18 (2002)
Legislating the Fruits of Biotechnology: Suggestions for Regulation Bio-Engineered Food and Pharmaceutical Products

handle is hein.journals/singlrev22 and id is 21 raw text is: Singapore Law Review (2002) 22 Sing LR 19-57 LEGISLATING THE FRUITS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY: SUGGESTIONS FOR REGULATING BIO- ENGINEERED FOOD AND PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS Benjamin Gaw Ying Charn* Biotechnology is of rapidly-growing importance as Singapore gears towards becoming a hub for the life sciences. This article uses the regulatory experiences in the United States and Europe as a backdrop to draw out the issues facing biotechnology legislation and to evaluate Singapore's legislative efforts in the field of biotechnology. Four initiatives in Singapore's current legislative framework are considered in this article, namely, the establishment of the Agri- Food and Veterinary Authority; the setting up of the Genetic Modification Advisory Committee and its promulgation of the Singapore Guidelines on the Release of Agriculture-Related GMOs; the setting up of the Centre for Drug Evaluation, and the establishment of the Health Sciences Authority. These initiatives are evaluated against criteria regarded as necessary for Singapore to design an effective legislative framework to meet its objectives in the life sciences industry. The author concludes that whilst Singapore's efforts have been on the right track, there is still room for improvement in the current Bioengineered Products legislative framework. I. INTRODUCTION Biotechnology has generated much global attention in recent years. Some groups are vehemently opposed to it, while others view it as the 'next big thing' after the Internet revolution.' Many new products are expected to be derived from the use of biotechnology. These products range from foods with longer shelf life, such as the anti-PG tomato,2 to more effective The author is a graduate of the Class of 2002, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore. I would like to express my gratitude to Associate Professor Terry Kaan Sheung-Haan, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore, for his valuable time, suggestions and comments in the course of my research and the writing of an earlier draft of this article. I would also like to thank Melissa for her encouragement and gracious proofreading ofthis article and its earlier draft. Any errors herein remain solely mine. I would also like to highlight that biotechnology issues are rapidly developing. However, the materials and information I have relied on are correct as of 15 March 2001, and there may have been subsequent developments thereafter which I have not been able to include. 1 Looi T. K. , Biotechnology - The Next Frontier, Singapore Law Gazette, November 2000. 2 R. A. Bohrer, Food Products Affected by Biotechnology (1994) 55 U. Pitt. L. Rev. 653.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most