Of course, even the most nimble outfits need the right environment to blossom. Equally so, intellectual property rights. Poor IP protection may well be a hurdle to the growth of biotech in China, Fung says. But changes will take time. Even if U.S. patent laws were adopted now, it would take a generation or so for the new mindset to take hold.
Many countries also lack financial and legal professionals with biotech expertise.
That's not to say Asia has lost the race before it even began. We don't have to start from scratch. Tanibayashi Masayuki, senior analyst with a Tokyo investment consultancy, compares biotech business to a marathon. The race has just started. We have come only five kilometers, and no one knows who will win in the end.