Biotechnology is a commercial use of living organisms. The primary Biotechnology area is medicine, and the related products such as vaccines. Biotechnology is used in industries like agriculture, heavy industry and mining with products like biopesticides. Many pharmaceutical companies https://genotec-frankfurt.de/crispr-genome-editing/ have a distinct division that deals with biotech-based medicines. Some of these medicines are derived from living organisms, while others are chemically dependent. This distinction is important as the risk characteristics of these two industries are distinct.
Biotech companies can be expensive to run due its extensive research and development. A successful product can bring an impressive financial return. However, it can take a long time for a new product to reach the market. The FDA approval process is complicated and time-consuming. It requires preclinical tests as well as clinical trials and quality control. According to Science Daily, only a small portion of the compounds that are tested ultimately make it to the market.
Biotech companies may choose to focus their efforts on technology partnerships or develop their own pharmaceutical assets, which they then license to big pharmaceutical companies to manufacture and distribute. The majority of biotech startups choose the former option as it could boost the revenue growth. It is not without danger, however, because they also have to cover the costs of developing clinical products and regulatory approval and insurance reimbursement negotiation and sales promotion. To limit these risks biotech companies often rely on strategic alliances with major pharma and smaller biotechnology platform companies. Massachusetts biotech’s ecosystem for example, includes a renowned teaching hospital, universities, entrepreneurs and venture capitalist communities.