- The biotechnology industry emerged in the 1970s, based largely
on a new recombinant DNA technique whose details were
published in 1973 by Stanley Cohen of Stanford University
and Herbert Boyer of the University of California, San Francisco.
Recombinant DNA is a method of making proteins.
such as human insulin and other therapies.in cultured cells
under controlled manufacturing conditions. Boyer went on to
co-found Genentech, which today is biotechnology's largest
company by market capitalization.
- Biotechnology has created more than 200 new therapies and
vaccines, including products to treat cancer, diabetes, HIV/
AIDS and autoimmune disorders.
- There are more than 400 biotech drug products and vaccines
currently in clinical trials targeting more than 200
diseases, including various cancers, Alzheimer’s disease, heart
disease, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, AIDS and arthritis.
- Biotechnology is responsible for hundreds of medical diagnostic
tests that keep the blood supply safe from HIV and detect
other conditions early enough to be successfully treated. Home
pregnancy tests are also biotechnology diagnostic products.
- Agricultural biotechnology benefits farmers, consumers
and the environment.by increasing yields and farm income,
decreasing pesticide applications and improving soil and water
quality, and providing healthful foods for consumers.
- Environmental biotech products make it possible to clean
up hazardous waste more efficiently by harnessing pollutioneating
microbes.
- Industrial biotech applications have led to cleaner processes
that produce less waste and use less energy and water in such industrial
sectors as chemicals, pulp and paper, textiles, food, energy,
and metals and minerals. For example, most laundry detergents
produced in the United States contain biotechnology-based
enzymes.
- DNA fingerprinting, a biotech process, has dramatically improved
criminal investigation and forensic medicine. It has also led
to significant advances in anthropology and wildlife management.
- The biotech industry is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA).
- As of Dec. 31, 2006, there were 1,452 biotechnology companies
in the United States, of which 336 were publicly held.*
- Market capitalization, the total value of publicly traded biotech
companies (U.S.) at market prices, was $360 billion as of
late April 2008 (based on stocks tracked by BioWorld).
- The biotechnology industry has mushroomed since 1992, with
U.S. health care biotech revenues from publicly traded companies
rising from $8 billion in 1992 to $58.8 billion in 2006.*
- Biotechnology is one of the most research-intensive industries
in the world. U.S. publicly traded biotech companies spent
$27.1 billion on research and development in 2006.*
- There were 180,000 employed in U.S. biotech companies in
2006.*
- The top five biotech companies invested an average of
$170,000 per employee in R&D in 2007.
- In 1982, recombinant human insulin became the first biotech
therapy to earn FDA approval. The product was developed
by Genentech and Eli Lilly and Co.
- Corporate partnering has been critical to biotech success.
According to BioWorld, in 2007 biotechnology companies
struck 417 new partnerships with pharmaceutical companies
and 473 deals with fellow biotech companies. The industry
also saw 126 mergers and acquisitions.
- Most biotechnology companies are young companies developing
their first products and depend on investor capital for
survival. According to BioWorld, biotechnology attracted more
than $24.8 billion in financing in 2007 and raised more than
$100 billion in the five-year span of 2003-2007.
- The biosciences - including all life-sciences activities - employed
1.3 million people in the United States in 2006 and
generated an additional 7.5 million related jobs.**
- The average annual wage of U.S. bioscience workers was
$71,000 in 2006, more than $29,000 greater than the average
private-sector annual wage.**
- The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) was founded
in 1993 to represent biotechnology companies at the local, state,
federal and international levels. BIO comprises more than 1,200
members, including biotech companies, academic centers, state
and local associations, and related enterprises.
* New data are expected in mid-2008 from Ernst & Young, which publishes an annual global overview of the biotechnology industry.
See the 2008 BIO-sponsored Battelle Memorial Institute report.
* Amounts are in U.S. dollars in billions
Source:
Ernst & Young LLP
* Amounts are in U.S. dollars in billions
Source:
Ernst & Young LLP, annual biotechnology industry reports, 1995-2006. Financial data based primarily on fiscal-year financial statements of publicly
traded companies.**
* Amounts are in U.S. dollars in billions
Source:
Ernst & Young LLP
Source:
BioWorld
Total: $24,773.8 Million
(all figures in millions)
Source:
BioWorld
|
Printer Friendly
