Types of companies involved in Biotechnology Syed Abdullah Gilani

Generally recognized as the first biotechnology company 1976 – Genentech Inc. – small company near San Francisco, California was founded Generally recognized as the first biotechnology company Global industry – hundreds of products on the market, generating more than $63 billion in worldwide revenues, including $40 billion in sales of biological drugs Enzymes, antibodies, growth factors, vaccines, hormones Cancer, diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, AIDS and several other diseases 95% of biotechnology companies are in North America, Europe, and Japan 4900 companies in 54 countries (India and China – rapidly developing industry)

1500 biotechnology companies in the United States Closely associated with colleges and universities or located near major universities where basic science ideas for biotechnological applications are generated Biotechnology Industry Organization – www.bio.org for biotechnology centers in the US Large pharmaceutical companies are getting involved now in biotechnological research or product development Range of companies – small to large size (30 – over 300 employees)

Top-Five Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Companies (Revenue-wise) Biotech Companies Revenue ($Million) Amgen 12,022 Genentech 6,633 Genzyme 2,597 Biogen Idec 2,377 Chiron 1,921 --------------------------------------------------------------- Pfizer 51,298 Johnson & Johnson 50,656 Merck & Co 22,000 Bristol-Myers Squibb 19,207 Eli Lilly & Co 14,645

Applications of Biotechnology Microbial Biotechnology Microbes Use of yeast Manipulating microorganisms (bacteria and yeast), enzymes and products are produced for making many foods, simplifying manufacturing and production processes, and making decontamination processes for industrial waste product removal more efficient Leaching of oil and minerals from the soil to increase mining efficiency Microbes used to clone and produce batch amounts of important proteins used in human medicine including insulin and growth hormone

Applications of Biotechnology Agricultural Biotechnology Ag-biotech Genetically engineered plants Pest resistant plants – do not need to be sprayed with pesticides to foods with higher protein or vitamin content and drugs developed and grown as plant products Drought tolerant, tolerance to cold temperature, greater food yields Plants can be engineered to produce a wide range of pharmaceutical proteins in a broad array of crop species and tissues

Bt cotton Bt cotton has been genetically modified by the insertion of one or more genes from a common soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis. These genes encode for the production of insecticidal proteins, and thus, genetically transformed plants produce one or more toxins as they grow. The genes that have been inserted into cotton produce toxins that are limited in activity almost exclusively to caterpillar pests (Lepidoptera). However, other strains of Bacillus thuringiensis have genes that encode for toxins with insecticidal activity on some beetles (Coleoptera) and flies (Diptera). Some of these genes are being used to control pests in other crops, such as corn.

US$ 7 billion business in US only Biofuels – provide ethanol source other than corn Future biofuel efficient sources of energy – agricultural wastes, prairie grasses, and other high cellulose sources Molecular pharming – use of plants as sources of pharmaceutical products Tobacco- engineered to produce recombinant proteins in their leaves as pharmaceutical products

Applications of Biotechnology Animal Biotechnology Bioreactors – animals are used to produce important products Goats, sheep, cattle, chicken – antibodies production Antibodies help in improving immune system and destroy any foreign material in body cells Human therapeutic proteins are produced by animals Needed in kilograms, therefore in future transgenic female animals may be produced that may express therapeutic proteins in their milk Knockout experiments – to know about the functions of gene or genes because genes in mice or rats are also present in humans

1997 – Roslin Institute, Scotland – cloned sheep, Dolly Created by cell nuclear transfer process Many other animals have been cloned since Dolly Cloned animals may contain genetically engineered organs that can be transplanted into humans without fears of tissue rejection

Applications of Biotechnology Forensic Biotechnology Law enforcement agencies analyze DNA of the suspect whether he is culprit or innocent DNA fingerprinting technique is used Traces of tissues, hair, blood, body fluid Crimes, paternity cases for pinpointing child’s father, identifying human remains DNA fingerprinting is also used on endangered species to stop poaching and convictions of criminals by analyzing the DNA of their “catch” Escherichia coli in contaminated meat and to track diseases such as AIDS, meningitis, tuberculosis, Lyme disease, and the West Nile Virus French company – gene expression test on expensive food products to identify cheap, substitute or mystery meats (cats, eels)

Applications of Biotechnology Bioremediation To process and degrade a variety of natural and manmade substances, particularly environmental pollutant used to clean up environmental hazards that have been caused by industrial progress, industrial sewages 1970 – US patent of GMO – Ananda Chakrabarty Developed strain of bacteria that was capable of degrading components in crude oil 1989 – Strains of bacteria Pseudomonas were used to clean Alaskan beaches following the Exxon Valdez oil spill Applied nutrients that stimulated growth of Pseudomonas to help speed up the bioremediation process

Applications of Biotechnology Aquatic Biotechnology Water covers the majority of earth Aquaculture – oldest application of biotechnology, raising finfish or shellfish in controlled conditions for use as food sources Shellfish, salmon, catfish, trout 30% of all fish consumed by human all over the world are produced through aquaculture Genetic engineering – disease-resistant oysters and vaccines against viruses that infect salmon and other finfish

Transgenic salmon – overproduce growth hormone leading to extraordinary growth rates over short growing periods – decreasing time and resources Aquatic organisms – living under harshest conditions of the world – salt, cold, pressure from living at great depths, and other environmental constraints Important or new genes, proteins, metabolic processes may have important applications for human benefits Example: marine plankton and snails – rich sources of antitumor and anticancer molecules Enzymes from the microorganisms living at extreme natural hot waters

Applications of Biotechnology Medical Biotechnology Drugs and recombinant proteins Vast area in medicine is covered – preventive medicine to the diagnosis of health and illness to the treatment of human disease conditions Over 325 million people worldwide used drugs and medicines produced through biotechnology Human genome project – helping in diagnosis of hereditary diseases, identify defective genes and decipher the details of genetic diseases (sickle cell anemia, cystic fibrosis, cancer causes, forms of infertility etc) Gene therapy – genetic disease conditions can be treated by inserting normal genes into a patient or replacing disease gene with normal genes

Stem cell technology – newest technology – controversial Stem cells are immature cells that have the potential to develop and specialize into different types of human tissue that might be used in transplantations to replace damaged tissue Complex legal, ethical and scientific issues