The 21st century is witnessing the dawn of biotechnology, which is expected to surpass Information Technology as the new engine of the global economy. Its products will be more important than the fire, the wheel, or the car and will generate more knowledge in a short period of time than history's collective wisdom. Biotechnology is expected to alter healthcare, agriculture, commercial and industrial products.
It is predicted, that by the middle of the 21st century, all companies will become Biotech companies in some form or the other. A key driver and enabler of this emerging technology is bioinformatics. The biotech industry developed only within the last twenty-five years.
During 1970s and 80s the understanding of biology reached a point where it was possible to use the smallest parts of organisms, their cells and molecules. To better understand the meaning of the word “biotechnology”, simply change the singular noun to its plural form, “biotechnologies.” Biotechnology is a collection of technologies that capitalize on the attributes of cells and biological molecules, such as DNA and proteins.
Conventional techniques of producing biotechnology products, such as using traditional microbiological fermentation, evolved with the development of modern technologies. Modern biotechnology entails the use of cell fusion techniques, bio-informatics
(use of information technology for documenting bio-diversity and studying DNA structures
), genetic engineering, structure based molecular design and recombinant DNA technology
(insertion of foreign gene
), and hybridoma technology
(fusing and multiplying cells
).
The world market for biotechnology is bound to grow in the next three to five years. The United States is the recognized leader in the global biotech market. It maintains its competitive edge through continuous creation of highly innovative, technologically advanced new products and processes.
Intense competition, particularly among pharmaceutical buyers, created a robust deal environment in 2006. The average premium in M&A transactions with values over $500 million increased 60% in 2006, more than twice the average M&A premium from 2003 to 2005. Several companies in the U.S. were acquired for premiums in the 50% range, with some crossing the 100% threshold. In a reversal of recent trends, pharmaceutical buyers gravitated towards early-stage platforms and technologies.
In many ways, 2006 was the year of the deal for the biotech industry. This is all the more remarkable because there was no one deal of the year. In prior years, high deal-value totals were typically driven by a single mega deal, but in 2006 there was widespread recognition among buyers of the potential value in biotech's platforms and pipelines.
This report on the Global Biotechnology Industry looks at the entire biotech industry, covering its segments, the technologies making waves, leading players taking the industry forward, and much more. An analysis of the major regions boosts the report from an investor’s point of view, and the general knowledge about the biotech industry is beneficial to all.
Table of Contents74 pagesPublication Date : January 2009
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