Biotechnology promised two main prizes: A cure for cancer. Yet, by the late 1980s investors were losing faith in the ability of drug companies to find a cure for cancer. Biotechnology's proponents virtually guaranteed a breakthrough. Sadly, the search delivered nothing. British Biotech were UK leaders in the field of cancer research. Valued at £2bn in 1997, they dropped in value to £34 million by September 2002, a loss to investors of 98.3 per cent. Biotechnology companies can no longer raise funds on the stock market.
Control of the global market for food. Since time immemorial, people have tried to 'corner' the market in agricultural commodities. With the promise of genetically modified crops that would yield more, resist diseases, grow in depleted soils, taste better and stay fresh longer - money poured into companies like Monsanto.
The attempt to capture the food and farming markets fared poorly, except in the US. Here, Monsanto's attempt to dominate the agricultural sector is an example of corporate miscalculation on a colossal scale.
Monsanto's patent on their herbicide Roundup was due to expire by 2001. So they injected a Roundup-resistance gene into soybeans and corn and came up with Roundup Ready crops. Now fields could be sprayed year-round with Roundup without crops being affected. This ensured that farmers continued to pay a premium price for their herbicide. With money raised on Wall Street they bought up the leading seed companies in America, Canada, Argentina and India in order to force distribution of their new products. Launched in 1996, sales of GM seed boomed as farmers fell for a marketing pitch that promised higher yields and lower herbicide costs.
