Molecular Biotechnology: Principles and Applications - Glick B., Pasternak J. 2002

Fundamentals of Molecular Biotechnology
The Molecular Biotechnology Revolution
Commercialization of Molecular Biotechnology

The ultimate goal of all biotechnological research is the creation of a commercial product. Consequently, molecular biotechnology is closely linked to economics. Of course, its current development is driven by more than just economic factors; however, initially, the excitement surrounding this young science was fueled by the potential for profit. By the evening of October 15, 1980, the major shareholders of Genentech had become millionaires, spurring many others into swift action. Between 1980 and 1983, about 200 small biotechnology companies were founded in the United States, fueled by tax incentives, high returns on securities, and the interest of private investors. Following the lead of Herbert Boyer, who went from being a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, to becoming the vice president of Genentech, many university professors established their own companies.

By 1985, there were already more than 400 biotechnology firms in the United States; many of them incorporated the word "gen" into their names to signal their affiliation with the Introduction/32.html">Genetic Engineering guild: Biogen, Amgen, Calgene, Engenics, Genex, Cangene. Today, there are over 1,500 biotechnology companies in the US and more than 3,000 worldwide. In addition, major contributions to The Development of molecular biotechnology have been made by all large multinational chemical and pharmaceutical companies, including Monsanto, Du Pont, Upjohn, American Cyanamid, Eli Lilly, SmithKline Beecham, Merck, Novartis, and Hoffmann-La Roche. During the rapid expansion of the biotechnology business in the 1980s, small companies were acquired by larger ones, and joint ventures were formed. For example, in 1991, a 60% stake in Genentech was sold to Hoffmann-La Roche for 2.1 billion dollars. At the same time, many companies went bankrupt. Such dynamism is a hallmark of the biotechnology industry.

By the mid-1990s, more than a dozen new biotechnological drugs had entered the market, over 100 drugs were undergoing clinical trials, and more than 500 others were in development. Numerous new molecular biotechnology products have been developed and marketed to improve crop yields and livestock productivity. The annual revenue of the molecular biotechnology industry grew from 6 million dollars in 1986 to approximately 30 billion dollars in 1996. It is estimated that by 2000, annual sales of products manufactured using molecular biotechnology will exceed 60 billion dollars. And although the overall profitability of the biotechnology business has not been as high as expected, investor enthusiasm remains strong, indicating that molecular biotechnology—at least in their view—has a brilliant future.

All new independent molecular biotechnology companies are highly specialized, which is often reflected in their names. For example, following The Emergence of Gene-cloning companies, firms producing genetically engineered Antibodies for the Treatment of infectious diseases, Cancer, and other human illnesses appeared in the US: Immunex, ImmuLogic, ImmunoGen, Immunomedics, Medlmmune, Immune Response.

Most commercial developments in molecular biotechnology take place in the United States. In other countries, where the investment climate is less favorable and business is less active, large corporations and the government play the leading role in establishing molecular biotechnology enterprises. For instance, the Japanese government declared biotechnology a "strategic industry" and a national priority. Major Japanese corporations took up the challenge. Initially, they lacked their own skilled personnel, and early research was conducted in collaboration with American universities and companies. Today, these corporations have acquired the necessary expertise and are independently conducting molecular biotechnology research and developing genetically engineered products.

The European biotechnology industry is also growing steadily: by 1995, more than 600 biotechnology companies had been established in European countries. In economically less developed nations, the government has taken on The Role of the driving force in developing the national molecular biotechnology industry. The driving incentive was the conviction that molecular biotechnology is "the most revolutionary of all 20th-century technologies." No country wanted to be left behind, missing out on all the benefits that its development promised.

Now, at the close of its second decade of development, molecular biotechnology has effectively become a full-fledged industry, even though some scientists initially regarded it as a purely esoteric field. Undoubtedly, commercial molecular biotechnology is poised for rapid growth over the next decade, but for this very reason, making specific predictions remains highly risky.