The Nagoya Protocol and the Legal Structure of Global Biogenomic Research

Abstract

International research collaborations have been the engines of some of the most important advances in human health and nutrition over the last century. The Green Revolution, built on networks of scientists and resources drawn from the world's wealthiest and poorest countries, averted critical food shortages that faced the growing world population in the 1950s and 1960s. The most promising vaccine candidates for devastating infectious diseases like Ebola and HIV have resulted from partnerships of financial resources, governments, and scientists from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and Thailand. Orchestrated technology transfer and research capacity building in low- and middle-income countries have delivered advances in the ability of low-resource countries to manufacture medicines and vaccines. Scientists have worked together across borders as threats posed by infectious disease, malnutrition, and environmental degradation necessitate partnerships that match the technology and resources in wealthy countries with the knowledge and biodiversity abundant in many poorer ones.