Takshashila Issue Paper - The Case for Quad Co-operation in Biotechnology

Executive Summary

The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (henceforth referred to as Quad), between the United States, India, Japan, and Australia, was envisioned as an informal grouping of four states with common interests in the Indo-Pacific.

In 2021, the Quad officially announced the establishment of over 10 working groups to bolster collaboration in multiple sectors. Biotechnology and its allied applications have been identified as a potential field for co-operation between the Quad.

This intelligence estimate explores various tools and technologies in the life sciences domain that the Quad countries enjoy comparative advantages in and can pursue joint partnerships to develop the domain on a global scale.

The document elucidates the different applications of existing technologies in life sciences that have socio-economic benefits and can help in human development. This document also provides an overall perspective of biotechnology’s potential to be one of the driving forces for the Quad in the coming years.

We have identified the following areas with potential for co-operation:

1. Pandemic Research Hub

2. Sustainable Agriculture and Animal Husbandry

3. Vaccines

4. Gene Editing

5. Synthetic Biology

6. Computational Biology

Authors