The recent announcement that American Home Products and Monsanto Co. are merging to create one of the world's largest life science companies has focused public attention on a revolutionary change taking place in the global economy. We are in the midst of a historic transition from the Industrial Age to the Biotech Age. While the 20th century was shaped largely by spectacular breakthroughs in physics and chemistry, the 21st century will belong to the biological sciences. Scientists around the world are deciphering the genetic code of life. After thousands of years of fusing, melting, soldering, forging and burning inanimate matter to create useful things, we are now splicing, recombining, inserting and stitching living material into commercial goods.
Genes are the raw resource of the new economic epoch.
Molecular biologists around the world are mapping the genomes of many of the Earth's creatures, from the lowliest bacteria to human beings, creating a vast genetic library for commercial exploitation. Global life science companies are maneuvering to control the new genetic commerce. Typical of the trend is the bold decision by chemical giants like Monsanto, Novartis, Hoechst and Dupont to spin off or sell part or all of their chemical divisions and anchor their research, development and marketing in biotech-based technologies and products. The concentration of power is already impressive. At the heart of any public discussion of the new genetic commerce is the issue of patenting the genetic blueprints of millions of years of evolution.