On January 20, 2000 President Bill Clinton officially declared National Biotechnology Month 2000 and in his speech he stated:
“Remarkable as its achievements have been, the biotechnology enterprise is still in its infancy. We will reap even greater benefits as long as we sustain the intellectual partnership and public confidence that have moved biotechnology forward thus far…
We must … provide Federal regulatory agencies with sufficient resources to maintain sound, science-based review and regulation of biotechnology products.”
He also stated:
“Today, a third of all new medicines in development are based on biotechnology. Designed to attack the underlying cause of an illness, not just its symptoms…”
The next day, January 21, 2000, President Clinton launched the new National Nanotechnology Initiative. [1]