Biotechnology
Biotechnology Investing in the Future By: Fergal Hogan T
here are many pre-conceptions about biotechnology and its uses, and everything you think you know could be wrong. The OECD de-
fines biotechnology as "the application of sci- entific and engineering principles to the processing of materials by biological agents". Essentially, it is the use of living organisms to make useful products. Biotechnology has been used for thousands of years for many intriguing and practical purposes such as making bread and cheese, preserving dairy products and fer- menting beer.
Production can be carried out by using intact
organisms, such as yeasts and bacteria, or by using natural substances from organisms. From new drugs that combat disease to industrial processes that use renewable feedstock rather than crude oil to crops that can grow in rough climatic conditions and ensure safe and afford- able food, biotechnology is paying economic, social and environmental dividends. There are three major fields of biotechnol- ogy: agricultural, healthcare and industrial. Agricultural biotechnology encompasses a range of modern plant breeding techniques. For centuries, farmers have sought to improve their crops by relying on the random rearrangement of existing genes between two closely related parent plants. Modern agricultural biotechnol- ogy improves crops in a more focused manner. The best known technique is genetic modifica- tion, which gives plant varieties desirable char- acteristics such as resistance to certain pests or vitamin fortification.
According to the United Nations, food pro- duction must rise by 50% by the year 2030 to meet the demands of a growing population. Agricultural biotechnology has been shown to multiply crop production, and it offers built-in protection against insect damage, resulting in a
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decrease in pesticide spraying. It helps reduce fuel use and carbon dioxide emissions by requiring less tillage and helps farmers grow more food in harsher climatic conditions. It pro- duces food containing fewer toxins and protects soil from erosion and compaction by enabling farmers to reduce the need to plough their fields. Healthcare biotechnology refers to a me- dicinal product that contains living organisms and may be manufactured by combining DNA sequences that would not normally occur to- gether. It accounts for more than 20% of all mar- keted medicines and it is estimated that by 2015, 50% of all medicines will come from biotech.
Between 2000 and 2008, employment in all de- partments of companies working on the development of drugs for rare disease patients in the EU more than doubled, showing an in- crease of 158% according to the UK’s Office of Health Economics.
Industrial biotechnology uses enzymes and
micro-organisms to make bio-based products in sectors such as chemicals, food and feed, deter- gents, paper and pulp, textiles and bio-energy. In doing so, it uses renewable raw materials and offers one of the most innovative approaches to- wards lowering greenhouse gas emissions. The application of industrial biotechnology has been
Industrial biotechnology uses enzymes and micro-organisms to make bio-based products in sectors such as chemicals, food and feed, detergents, paper and pulp, textiles and bio-energy.
Biotech medicine is used to treat and prevent every day and chronic illnesses including heart attacks, stroke, multiple sclerosis, breast cancer, cystic fibrosis, leukaemia, diabetes, hepatitis and other rare or infectious diseases. Healthcare biotech increases the effectiveness and safety of treatments as well as reducing the use of inef- fective treatments and adverse reactions. The healthcare biotechnology industry com- prises more than 1,700 companies and a market worth more than €17 billion in Europe alone.
proven to make significant contributions to- wards mitigating the impacts of climate change. In addition to environmental benefits, biotech- nology can improve industry’s performance and product value, and as the technology develops and matures, it will yield more and more viable solutions for the environment. The industry is worth almost €2 trillion and provides about 22 million jobs in Europe across sectors as diverse as agriculture, forestry, fisheries, food, chemi- cals and bio-fuels.
New European Economy
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