The biotech industry includes companies whose products help humans by treating diseases with life-saving treatments and drugs increasing yields on agricultural land and producing green fuels and chemicals. Bioinformatics is also a part of it as the study of biological processes and data. It can be utilized in a variety of fields.
Biotech is a technology that has its roots in the 1970s when the technology of recombinant DNA (genetic engineering) was invented and then patentable. This technique lets scientists splice genes in production cells that will then begin to produce useful protein molecules.
Today, many pharmaceutical companies have active target-discovery research programs that heavily rely on biotechnology. There are also small upstarts that employ unique proprietary techniques to develop therapeutic drugs.
Companies focusing on agrobiology, cosmetics, the environment food technology, nutraceuticals and industrial biotechnology, along with veterinarian medicine, are pursuing other biotechnology applications. Fully integrated Pharma companies are massive commercial enterprises that study, produce and sell generic or brand-name medicines.
A myriad of new technologies are revolutionizing the biotech industry, making it possible for companies to validate their platforms in conditions that are established mechanisms (such as sickle cell disease) and reach larger patients. Some companies are trying to develop new treatments for diseases that have not been treated, like Duchenne muscle dystrophy.