Biotechnology develops cellular and bimolecular processes to create products that will make our lives easier, ameliorated, and our planet healthier. Biological processes of microorganisms have been used by humans for more than 6,000 years to preserve dairy products, make useful food products, such as cheese and bread, and alcoholic beverages.
Today, biotechnology fights against diseases, environmental footprints, starvation, excessive, unhealthy energy consumption, and dangerous, contaminated, inefficient industrial manufacturing processes through its breakthrough technologies and products.
The biotechnology industry approximately doubled in revenue from 1996 to 2000, and it has been rapidly growing ever since, particularly due to the developments in healthcare.
The branches of the industry include gene therapy, nanotechnology, which is used in combining biological information with computer technology, environmental cleanup through the production of enzymes, and agricultural applications for genetically modified organisms. On that note, the land area planted for GMOs increased from 4.2 million acres in 1996 to 395 million acres by 2011.
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Fields of Biotechnology
Agricultural Biotechnology
This field concentrates on developing genetically modified plants in order to increase crop yields and provide new characteristics to plants that are advantageous in otherwise stressful weather conditions and pests.
The procedure is generally consisted of scientists identifying a positive characteristic, finding the source of that gene that induces it, and then placing the gene in another plant to create the desirable characteristic within itself so that it produces larger yields and is more durable.
Examples
1. Plant and Animal Breeding
One of the oldest practices that date back to farming, selective breeding, has always been a part of our lives for a better standard of living. Animals with desirable characteristics such as being large, domicile, and more resistant to diseases were matched with one another to create an ultimately profitable farming business.
Through the development of technology, the practice has been influenced at the molecular level with the same purpose. The different desirable characteristics are selected among animals through genetic markers and the genomic understanding of these traits provides information on whether the desired characteristics will get lost as recessive genes or expressed.
The development in this technology establishes a basis for making smart decisions and being able to predict how the genes will express themselves. For instance, in flower production, traits such as smell and color potency are enhanced.
2. Pest Resistant Crops
Biotechnology has led the way in providing techniques for the creation of crops that naturally express anti pest characteristics, resisting pests. Thus, costs are highly reduced as farmers are not required to dust and spray these crops with pesticides. An exemplary fungus that is transferred to the crops is Bacillus thuringiensis, which is used because it is very effective against pests such as the European corn borer. This Bt protein that the fungus produces is the desired trait for the plant; thus the corp, through this transfer, is able to produce the protein toxin naturally, and this results in a lower cost of production.
Medical Biotechnology
This technology uses living cells and other materials to provide a better quality of life for humans. Fundamentally it, prevents, gets rid of, and finds cures for diseases. Scientists ultimately target a more efficient way of maintaining human health as well as understanding the human cell biology. Through the study of plant, animal cells, and bacteria, they try to understand the way these organisms function at a fundamental level.
The intense study of DNA results in the ability to find ways to manipulate the genetic makeup of cells which increases the production of beneficial traits that humans could benefit from such as producing insulin.
Examples
1. Antibiotics
Throughout the development of antibiotics, the transition from utilizing the cells from animals to growing plants was made as the plants are genetically engineered to produce antibodies in larger quantities; thus it is more cost effective.
2. Vaccines
Vaccines stimulate the body’s immune system so that it can combat pathogens more effectively when they attack the body. This is accomplished by inserting the weakened versions of the diseases into the bloodstream of the body. These attenuated disease pathogens are created using biotechnological techniques such as utilizing genetically engineered crops to grow antigenic proteins. Reacting to the chemical, the body acts as if it is under attack by the disease and combats the weakened pathogens, remembering the cell structure of the pathogens, and storing the information it took note of within the body.
After being vaccinated, when the individual becomes exposed to the disease itself, the body rapidly recognizes the pathogen and immediately builds a defense against it, as it has previous information regarding the pathogen. Hence, the body heals quicker and has undergoes time being symptomatic.
Investment in Biotech
In terms of profitability, a medical biotech company requires over ten years of research to develop a new treatment, and thus funding, so in general they are all highly dependent on venture capital funds and trading publicly on stock markets such as Nasdaq or Euronext.
They can accumulate millions through IPO’s as investors are following up with the next trend in the biotech industry at all times, such as the UK biotech Orchard Therapeutics, specializing in gene therapies, which raised over €200M in its Nasdaq IPO. What is more, another popular field, CAR T-cell therapy for cancer, is a part of the London-based company Autolus, which raised a €130M IPO on Nasdaq a year ago.
Globally, 2018 was a record-breaking year for biotech VC investment, as one of the largest funding rounds was raised by the US Relay Therapeutics, whose Series C reached an impressive €357M. In total for 2018, €15B was successfully raised by biotech companies, and there is only more development to come.
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Sources:
https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/biotechnology-types-examples-applications.php
https://labiotech.eu/interviews/biotech-investment-wellington-partners/
