Dramatic developments in understanding the fundamental underpinnings of life have provided exciting opportunities to make marine bioproducts an important part of the U.S. economy. Several marine based pharmaceuticals are under active commercial development, ecosystem health is high on the public's list of concerns, and aquaculture is providing an ever greater proportion of the seafood on our tables. Nevertheless, marine biotechnology has not yet caught the public's, or investor's, attention. Two workshops, held in October 1999 and November 2001 at the National Academies, were successful in highlighting new developments and opportunities in environmental and biomedical applications of marine biotechnology, and also in identifying factors that are impeding commercial exploitation of these products. This report includes a synthesis of the 2001 sessions addressing drug discovery and development, applications of genomics and proteomics to marine biotechnology, biomaterials and bioengineering, and public policy and essays contributed by the workshop speakers.

Table of Contents


Front Matter
Executive Summary
Biomedical Applicaions of Marine Natural Products: Overview of the 2001 Workshop
Environmental Aspects of Marine Biotechnology: Overview of the 1999 Workshop
Keynote Address
Session 1: Drug Discovery and Development
Session 2: Genomics and Proteomics
Session 3: Biomaterials and Bioengineering
Session 4: Public Policy, Partnerships, and Outreach
Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographical Sketches
Appendix B: National Research Council Project Oversight Boards
Appendix C: 2001 Marine Biotechnology Workshop: Biomedical Applications of Marine Natural Products - Agenda
Appendix D: 2001 Marine Biotechnology Workshop: Biomedical Applications of Marine Natural Products - Participants
Appendix E: 1999 Marine Biotechnology Workshop: Opportunities for Advancement of Environmental Marine Biotechnology - Participants