What is Biotechnology?

Biotechnology is a science-driven industry that uses living organisms and molecular biology to make health-related products. Biotech companies are also developing therapies or procedures (e.g., DNA fingerprints). Biotechnology is best known for its role in medicine and pharmacy, but the science is also applied in other fields such as genomics, food production, and biofuel production.

IMPORTANT TIPS

• Biotechnology is the applied science division that uses living organisms and their derivatives to make products and processes.
• These products and processes are included in health, medicine, biofuels, and environmental safety.
• Biotech stocks are risky investments because companies often spend a lot of time and money developing drugs that may never be marketed.
• The leading US biotech companies by market capitalization are Johnson & Johnson ($ 457.2 billion), Roche ($ 346.3 billion), Pfizer ($ 262.2 billion), and Novartis ($ 205 billion) on September 1, 2021.
• The valuation of a biotechnology company must consider the size and level of development of the asset portfolio.

Understanding Biotechnology

Biotechnology involves understanding how breathing organisms function at the molecular level, thus combining various disciplines such as biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, science and technology.

Modern biotechnology continues to play a critical role in extending life expectancy and improving quality of life, including providing products and therapies to fight disease, enhancing crop yields, and also, improving quality of life, and using biofuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Hungarian engineer Karl Ereky has coined the term “biotechnology” in 1919, which is often referred to as “biotechnology.”

A History Of Biotechnology

Biotechnology in its basic form has been around for thousands of years, dating back to when humans first learned to make bread, beer, and wine through natural fermentation. For centuries, biotechnology principles have been limited to agriculture, such as harvesting better crops and increasing yields by using the best seeds and raising livestock.

The field of biotechnology began to develop rapidly from the 19th period with the detection of microorganisms, the study of genetics by Gregor Mendel, and the pioneering work on fermentation and microbial processes by giants such as Pasteur and Lister. Biotechnology at the start of the 20th century led to the great discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming, which entered full-scale production in the 1940s.

Biotechnology began in the 1950s, driven by a better understanding of cell function and molecular biology in the postwar period. Since then, each decade has brought significant advances in biotechnology. Some of the highlights are as follows:

• The discovery of the 3D construction of DNA in the 1950s.
• Synthesis of insulin and development of measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines in the 1960s
• The significant advances in DNA research in the 1970s
• The first bioengineered drugs and vaccines to treat diseases such as cancer and hepatitis B were in the 1980s.
• The identification of many genes and the introduction of new treatments over the decades to treat multiple sclerosis and cystic fibrosis in the 1990s.
• The completion of human genome sequencing in the 1990s allowed scientists worldwide to explore new treatments for genetic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.

How to rate biotech companies

Biotech companies are not easy to evaluate because small businesses cannot profit when they have a portfolio of innovative drugs. In 2017, the biotech giant Gilead believed Kite Pharma for $ 12 billion. And kite had significant losses and had a deficit of more than $ 12 billion. Why did you buy Gilead Kite? Kite worked on a series of CAR T cell therapies to treat cancer. According to Raphael Rottgen, CFA FRM, from Toptal.com, this shows that a company’s pipeline often determines its value.

How Much Can You Earn Working In Biotechnology?

Biotech professionals may work in startups, large established companies, medical laboratories, or government research institutes. Allowing the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this industry’s growth in wages and employment is consistently above the national average. Salaries vary widely because it is a very diverse industry, and your salary will vary based on your education, experience, job, and chosen area. Here’s a look at average wages in 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics: 6

• Junior Biotechnologist: $ 46,340
• Microbiologist: $ 84,400
• Agricultural and Food Scientists: $ 68,830
• Molecular Biologist $ 94,270
• Biomedical Engineer: $ 92,620
• Quality Control Systems Manager: $ 108,790
• Scientific Manager: $ 137,940
• Director of Marketing or Business Development: $ 141,490

Conclusion

Both pharmaceutical and biotech companies face a costly method that, if successful, can produce highly profitable products. However, the process is highly unpredictable, proving too damaging and unrecoverable for a small biotech company.