China’s new rules in the pipeline on human genetic resources will clarify jurisdictions of regulatory bodies and enhance supervision related to biopharmaceutical research, and will have a lasting impact on international cooperation regarding the nation’s biomaterials, experts said.
In recent decades, the United States, Brazil, Japan and many European countries have strengthened their management of human genetic resources. “This subject has gradually become a field with global strategic importance,” [former director of the Institute of Medical Biology of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Chu Jiayou] added.
China’s new rules define human genetic resources as genetic materials, including organs, tissues and cells, as well as genetic information, such as the human genome and genes.
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The new rules state that foreign organizations and individuals, as well as entities formed or controlled by foreign stakeholders, are prohibited from collecting and preserving Chinese human genetic resources inside China or taking them outside of the country.
The collection, storage and supply of Chinese human genetic resources must be carried out by Chinese scientific research institutions, universities, medical institutions and enterprises, it added.
