Even though prescription drugs account for about 14 cents of every dollar in health care expenses, the pharmaceutical industry endures intense scrutiny as the sector grows. A pharmaceutical company can partner with biotech companies to aid its development pipeline and potentially hold down research costs. Biotechnology and pharmaceuticals have given us such medical breakthroughs as the use of insulin to treat diabetes.
Essentially, the biotechnology business uses science and technology to harness living organisms (like yeasts or bacteria) or substances (like enzymes) in the manufacturing process. Here, we'll introduce three broad categories of biopharmaceuticals:
1. Synthesizing or engineering proteins and peptides, or identifying cell receptors biopharmaceuticals;
2. Cell and tissue culture, such as tissue scaffolding or vaccine or immune system stimulants, as well as embryo manipulation biopharmaceuticals;
3. Process biology, such as fermentation, bio-processing, bio-leaching, bio-pulping, or bio-bleaching, as alternatives to developing pharmaceutical products.
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Work with the leading companies in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology
Research and design with biopharmaceuticals companies can drastically accelerate the development process for many drugs. Using recent knowledge about the human genome, companies in the biotech business can target certain molecules and provide a treatment for diseases more quickly.
I recommend: Aptagen, LLC, a biotech pharmaceutical company concentrating on drug targeting, claims to shave three years off the drug discovery timeline. You can order proteins, enzymes, coenzymes and substrates from
Calzyme Laboratories, Inc. online catalog.
Use pharmaceuticals and biotechnology for tissue scaffolding and producing vaccines
New advances in biotech have enabled companies to come up with treatments that stimulate some normal functions of the human body. This can include generating new tissue from defective cells, promoting immune system health and vaccine production, and allowing for embryo manipulation.
I recommend: The
New Jersey Center for Biomaterials has been working on tissue regeneration. These treatments range from allowing for new skin to be produced for burn victims to allowing for targeted treatments for degenerative heart conditions. The
Annie Appleseed Project is a non-profit organization working on developing a method to stimulate the human body to fight against melanoma cells.
Consult pharmaceutical manufacturers that offer bio-processing technology
Using bio-process technology, some chemical engineering and biotech companies can take advantage of biological materials and processes to manufacture a wide variety of products. These can include medicines, as well as everyday items such as paper.
I recommend: The
Broadley-James Corp. has an extensive online catalog of bio-process technology. For agricultural products made from bio-process tech, go to
West Coast Marine Bio-Processing Corp. They offer fertilizers made entirely from extracted seaweed.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide
- Watch these two biopharmaceutical fields for future market growth in biotech companies: nanobiotechnology--fabricating microscopic devices to be used in diagnostics or drug delivery, and DNA--such as genetic engineering or gene therapy.
The official source of Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology is
the Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology page at Business.com
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