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Friday, November 20, 2009

Biotechnology Industry Facts

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  • 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.

Market Capitalization, 1994-2006

* Amounts are in U.S. dollars in billions
Source:
Ernst & Young LLP

Industry Statistics, 1994-2006

* 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.**

TU.S. Public Companies by Region, 2006

* Amounts are in U.S. dollars in billions
Source:
Ernst & Young LLP

Total Financing, 1998-20057

Source:
BioWorld

Total: $24,773.8 Million
(all figures in millions)

Biotech Industry Financing, 2005

Source:
BioWorld

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