What is a Biotech Company
What is a Biotech Company
Years ago, when talking about biotech companies, we referred to them as companies that used biological materials. Such as proteins and larger molecules to create products. Today with the advances in technology, biotech has evolved to cover other fields of study and the creation of beneficial products for humanity. Along with pharmaceutics, we currently count on a wider range of products and drugs that we can use to make our life easier and to keep us healthy.
Yet, there are several challenges that both biotech companies and pharmaceutics face today. All this makes biotech companies an interesting topic to get deeper into and be updated on.
So, the purpose of this article is to provide you with basic knowledge about what is a biotech company. What its goals are, and the differences and similarities with pharmaceutics. Sounds interesting, right? Keep reading for more!
What is a Biotech Company: Everything You Need To Know
Products that most people have at home like beer, yogurt, and wine. And even products for laundry, and plastic bottles, are made by biotechnology companies. Over the last periods of time, humans have employed biotechnology as a way of surviving and coping with challenges. From breeding animals, and improving crops, to construction and housing. Biotechnology has been a tool for the development of our species.
Nevertheless, in the modern world, biotechnology is part of the industrial niche, known as biotech. These companies are in charge of researching, developing, and producing several different commercial products. Which are mainly focused on medical or agricultural purposes.
Biotech companies use living organisms as raw materials to manufacture products and solve related issues. With the latest medical discoveries, such as the human genome, DNA chain, and gene therapy. Biotech companies have been able to create better and more specialized products than ever before. That’s how companies in this industry have developed biofuels, pest-resistant crops, and gene cloning.
It’s worth mentioning that biopharma drugs have been used to develop today’s most used and valuable products. Here’s a list of the most used biotech products that have been introduced recently to the biotech companies’ stock.
AbbVie’s Humira: Used as a treatment for arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and psoriasis.
Roche’s Rituxan: Products used to treat different types of cancer.
Amgen/Pfizer’s Enbrel: This has been used as a treatment for autoimmune diseases.
The main biotech companies with the biggest market capitalization are Pfizer, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Johnson & Johnson, and Eli Lilly. It’s noticeable that some of the firms on this list are big companies in both the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.
In the last few years, biotech startups have successfully aligned with technology companies in Silicon Valley. The purpose of these two is to create drugs able to revolutionize the way we live.
The biotechnology industry is fast-growing and highly volatile. According to Gran View Research, the biotech industry is expected to reach $2.44 trillion by 2028.
Biotech Companies vs Pharma Companies
As we mentioned, biotech companies make use of biological materials to manufacture products. Based on this, are pharmaceutics are also classified as biotech? Let’s find it out.
Pharmaceutical companies do not count as biotech companies. Because they use only chemicals, mostly artificially sourced, to create drugs. Big-known pharmaceutics companies like Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson are some of the monsters of pharma companies. But they also work with biological therapies. So, making a difference between companies is getting blurred as time passes.
However, there are some people that still differentiate these two fields. Like the case of the financial website thestreet.com, it refers to biotech as a company in constant development within the science space. Roche is one of the biggest biotech companies in the world, and along with Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson are leading the revenue ranking.
There is this ultimate trend for certain biotech companies to become the center of the development efforts in the industry. This happens because of the opportunities they present in relation to their therapeutic benefit.
Biotech companies, often focus on science and how it can be used to heal complex healthcare issues. This is where the tech value of biotech companies stands out, due to its purpose of solving these problems. Let’s not forget the higher risk these companies face. But when considering all the value in the early process is key to understanding what is the goal of biotech.
We can also refer to biotech as a way to solve worldwide health problems, on a bigger scale. The main reason why this industry succeeds is that it can break boundaries, and go further. No matter if it’s a developing science, biotech is always looking for a way to solve a problem from an unexplored perspective. Innovation is what could define biotech.
And when it comes to innovation and commitment, biotech is the pioneer. An example of it is the case of Lilly and their 30 years of study and dedication to Alzheimer’s research. This shows how perseverant the biotech industry is, along with pharma. They made huge research regard to Alzheimer’s disease.
Last but not least, most biopharma companies are creating units to emulate the biotech models and operations, to divide resources. All of this with the goal of getting to long-term research initiatives. Emphasizing science and what is the value that technology adds to it. As well patients’ lives are crucial for defining biotech and improving pharma practices.