The Oscar For Biotech

The team at AgResearch and Direct Capital have pulled off a Peter Jackson-sized coup for this country. Raising $150 million to fund exciting new agricultural science projects is a wonderful effort in itself. But what makes the BioPacificVentures fund so important is that it has attracted international biotech heavyweights to New Zealand for the first time. For years, we’ve been telling ourselves we lead the world in agricultural science. We’ve had plenty of proof of our success in the production gains made by dairy and meat farmers. We’ve developed world-class apple varieties and bred the kiwifruit into one of the most popular fruits on the planet. But we have struggled to sell our story to international investors. New biotech companies have struggled to survive. Now, like our film makers and special-effects wizards, our scientific companies are going to get the chance to shine on the global stage.