The final version of the human genome was recently announced in Washington, Francis Collins, director of the US National Human Genome Project Institute, described this as the provisional last step in the comprehensive sequencing project. With the human genome decoded to 98.5% there is a great hope that it will be possible to successfully treat cancer, diabetes or cardio-vascular disease. Despite all of this knowledge, new illnesses that puzzle scientists and doctors continue to crop up. Have viruses declared war on man? The HIV virus is with certainty the most devastating one.

It has already taken the lives of millions of people, and is as yet still undefeated. And ever more new and modified viruses are being discovered and claim numerous victims, as shown by SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), the current example. Coronaviruses are believed to trigger this, but this is not yet proven. Are medicine and research reaching their limits? Probably not. Great sums are invested in research and development, and Europe has caught up considerably against the USA. Numbers substantiate this. In 2001, there were 1879 companies active in biotechnology in Europe. That is around 400 more than in the USA, and 16% more than in the previous year. The total turnover in Europe increased to 13.7 billion euro, 7.5 billion euro were invested in R&D. The market in Asia is also subject to great movement. According to the Helmut Kaiser Consultancy, the Chinese government will invest more than 150 billion euros in the new growth markets, i.e. in biotechnology, up to 2010.