Biotechnology

A "biotechnology company" is a company whose products or services primarily use biotechnology methods for their production, design or delivery. Biotechnology is defined as any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use.

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.

1. Biotechnology has created more than 200 new therapies and vaccines, including products to treat cancer, diabetes, HIV/ AIDS and autoimmune disorders.
   
   
2. 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.
   
   
3. Approximately 589,000 workers were employed in bioscience occupations in 2006
   
   
4. Venture capital investments in bioscience companies reached $11.6 billion in 2007
   
   
5. More than 82,000 bioscience-related patents were awarded between 2002 and 2007 in the United States
   

Examples of Biotechnology Products

Antibiotics
Biofuels
Monoclonal antibodies
Recombinant proteins

Examples of of Biotechnology Companies

Genentech, Inc.
Amgen, Inc.
Gilead Sciences, Inc.
Genzyme Corporation
Celgene Corporation
ImClone Systems Incorporated
Cephalon, Inc.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated