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Read any type of news media and chances are fairly good you will see something on biotechnology. Since it is talked about so much I decided to do some research and find out something about it. This article will give you some incite on the following:
- What is biotechnology?
- Are we all exposed to it?
- Is it a good investment?
In 1953 two junior researchers James Watson and Francis Crick at Cambridge University in England published a paper describing the structure of DNA.
DNA Definition: Deoxyribonucleic Acid.
DNA molecules carry the genetic information necessary for the organization and functioning of most living cells and control the inheritance of characteristics.The paper
presented byWatson and Crick paper was the first one to unravel the mechanics of life. They eventually won the Nobel Prize for their efforts.
Other scientists discovered that DNA created RNA, which in turn creates protein. Oh gosh - more definitions.
RNA Definition: Acronym for Ribonucleic Acid.
Forms of RNA include messenger RNA (mRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA), and ribosomal RNA (rRNA). RNA codes for amino acid sequences, which may be combined to form proteins. Where DNA is used, RNA acts as an intermediary, transcribing the DNA code so that it can be translated into proteins.
Protein, is a large molecule composed of one or more
chains of amino acids in a specific order. The order is determined by the base sequence of nucleotides in the gene that codes for the protein. Proteins are required for the structure, function, and regulation of the body's cells, tissues, and organs; and each protein has unique functions. Examples are hormones, enzymes, and antibodies.
Proteins are needed by the body for tasks such as contracting the heart muscles and firing the brain synapses. Watson and Crick were leaders in a new branch of science called molecular biology. This science proved that living things were complex machines in which DNA played the role of the master software. RNA served as its messenger to make the proteins that are the gears and levers of living cells.
The main thrust of biotechnology is finding new ways to treat disease. Demographics play a major part in this. The “baby boomers” are creeping toward retirement.With advancing age they begin to develop arthritis, cancer, alzheimer’s and other diseases. This is creating a huge new market for new medicines. Some of us would be long gone if we did not have some of these new medications to keep us alive.
The biotech industry was born in northern California in the mid 1970s at the University of California, San Francisco and Stanford University in Palo Alto. Two scientists Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen discovered the property that would turn DNA from Watson and Crick’s scientific curiosity into an industry. These two men discovered that a gene snipped out of one species could be inserted into the DNA of another species, and once at that point the transplanted gene would still produce whatever protein it was originally programmed to make.
This developement suggested that human genes could be spliced into the DNA of fast growing organisms (like bacteria) when multiplied they would produce medicinal proteins, such as insulin as a byproduct. In 1976 Swanson and Boyer started a company to use this genetic engineering to make medicines and other products. They named their company Genetech, short for “genetic engineering technology.” In 1980 Genetech floated the first IPO (Initial Public Offering) for a for a biotech firm. Genetech today is one of the largest successful biotechnology firms.
At the beginning of 2004 northern California and New England boast the greatest concentration of biotech firms. Southern California,The Pacific Northwest and other areas are seeing some new growth in biotech companies.For obvious reasons they tend to cluster around major universities. There are about 500 registered biotech firms at this time with new ones starting every day. Later I will list some of them.
Biotechnology provides addresses the medical needs of humans as well as many other organisms. and providing medicine for their care is not the only goal of biotechnology. This would probably be a good time to list the research going on and to put my disclaimer in about any bias on my part as to the legal, moral or religious issues in these reportings.The list is as follows:
70% of all supermarket foods sold in US stores today have been genetically engineered. Are we all involved?
Worldwide 130 million acres are planted with biotech crops. Artic flounder genes could be inserted into a tomato to make the plant frost resistant. (Relax, so far no animal genes inserted into plants have been sold commercially.) Genes from bacteria not animals furnish the traits found in most of today’s biotech crops. Genetically engineered corn and cotton plants produce their own insecticides with genes derived from bacteria. All of the major crops, currently cornering the genetically engineered seed market, either tolerate a particular herbicide (such as Roundup)or produce their own insecticide. All contain bacterial genes.
Goats milk has been engineered to produce a silk that
is stronger than steel. Bulletproof vests may be a
product some day from this discovery
Plants that can clean up toxins from the soil and foods.
Targeting specific vitamin and nutritional deficiencies
could be som of the next generation products. Bananas
are being modified to produce vaccines for illnesses
ranging from Hepatitis B to traverlers diarrhea.
Researchers are creating TNT-sensitive bacteria that
could be useful in land mine detection as well as
engineering zebra fish that can detect pollutants such
as dioxin or PCBs.
Relative to disease containment research is being
conducted to reduce the ability of mosquitoes to
diseases such as malaria.
Engineered grass that needs very little watering.
Teachniques to extend the shelf life of flowers
The above are just a few of the developments occurring in biotechnology, later I will list several web sites where information on other work is being done.
Stem Cells, Clones, and Other Frontiers:
Stem cell therapy, cloning, gene therapy, biological warfare countermeasures and other controversial technologies conjure up political, religious and moral misgivings.
It takes more than 200 different types of cells to make our bodies tick. Nerves, muscles, blood, bone and skin are examples of large families of cells. Each of these is divided into literally trillions of cells. The most controversial cells are those that are formed shortly after a sperm cell fertilizes an egg. The egg divides creating a small group embryonic stem cells. In a routine pregnancy the cells continue to divide until a baby composed of 200 different tissue types would emerge.
In 1998 scientists extracted human embryonic stem cells and caused them to grow in a tissue culture. Because embryonic stem cells can be any type of cells, scientists hope to discover how to prompt these undivided cells to produce specialized cells to repair damaged organs or tissues. For instance paralysis results when the spinal cord is severed. What if embryonic stem cells could be transformed into nerve cells to repair the break, similar to using solder to splice two wires? Opponents object to this because it involves the destruction of human embryos for use as spare parts. More on this can be found at www.nih.gov/news/stem cell/scireport.htm
Cloning and Stem Cells:
It is a known fact that one of the big problems with organ transplants is that the immune system rejection requires a lot of special and powerful drugs to suppress the normal immune system reactions. But immune system signals are embedded at the cellular level. A cell transplant would provoke an immune system response. Some scientist believe they can overcome the immune system rejection
problem through cloning or as they call it, nuclear transfer.
This nuclear transfer process involves taking the nucleus out of one cell and replacing it with the nucleus extracted from another cell. If the host cell were an egg, this nuclear transfer could also trigger the development of an embryo that would derive all of its genetic instructions from the transplanted nucleus. The bottom line is that it would be a clone of whatever organism provided the nucleus. This is the process used to create Dolly the cloned sheep.
Xenotransplantation:
Wow! That term even sounds controversial.
This term stands for foreign transplants and the objective is to bioengineer animals so that they could serve as organ donors for humans. Research has been going on in this field for years. As you might expect the problems of rejection are even greater. However several trends are converging to make this process seem more technically feasible. The FDA agency noted there are thirteen patients that die each day waiting to receive a lifesaving transplanted organ. These patients are willing advocates in support of biotech research. In 2002 it was announced that a team of researchers from two independent sources
were successful in genetically engineering pigs that lacked a particular gene. This was considered a major achievement , in the struggle to replace human parts with animal parts.
Countering Bioterror:
After September 11, 2001 interest grew in the vulnerability to biological warfare agents. The anthrax scare further created interest in ways to detect and combat these issues.
Above and beyond the Bioterror blip is the realization by these researchers that we need new drugs to combat infectious diseases. The emergence of bacterial and viral infections that have become resistant to current medicines is an issue that is of great concern. The presence of bacterial agents in animal feeds has caused gonorrhea, malaria and even childhood ear infections. thus becoming difficult to treat using standard antibiotics. Biotech firms are developing the tools to analyze the genetic and molecular structure of diseases in order to design more effective treatments. This is called rational drug design.
Major Biotech Firms:
The following table shows the top ten biotech firms in the US and Europe
US Company Market Cap ($ millions)
Amgen 58,117
Genetech 26,070
Immunex 14,927
Mdedimmune 10,487
Genzyme 9,470
IDEC 9,032
Biogen 8,053
Chiron 8,045
Gilead 6,228
Millennium 4,176
Market Cap ($ millions)
European Company
Serono 13,107
Elan 9,761
Shire Pharma 5,788
Qiagen 2,974
Celltech 2,947
Actelion 847
CAT 834
PowderJect 719
SkyePharma 525
Oxford 470
Is biotechnology a good Investment?
A look at the drug discovery timetable shows what it takes to get a new drug to market.
Discovery Time table - 2 to 10 years
Process:
- Preclinical Testing - Laboratory and animal testing
- Phase I: 20 to 80 volunteers - determines safety and dosage
- Phase II 100 to 300 volunteers - efficiency and side effects
- Phase III 1000 to 5000 volunteers - adverse reaction to long term effects
- Phase IV FDA Approval - Up to four more years
Biotech is a long-term investment that the experts say only younger people should consider for a small portion of their portfolio. If you would like to invest in this relatively new industry it would be a good idea to check with a
professional financial advisor.
There are many web sites with a lot of information on biotechnology and what is in the research pipeline. Some that I have read about are:
www.biotech-info.net
If you want to find out what is going on by disease go to www.phrma.org and click on New Medicines in Development.
Science and Nature is a publication that has several articles on biotechnology www.nature.com
www.isinet.com is another web site containing information on scientific research. Some other web sites are:
National Institute of Health www.nih.gov.
www.cdc.gov
Central source for health trends in the US.
Bio.com Offers news, analysis, stock information, and other services
www.bio.com
Biospace Provides summaries of press releases, clinical trials info and investor chat rooms.
Biotechnology Industry Organization:
Provides education, advocacy, investor information and legislative updates affecting biotech firms. www.bio.org
This site has an article from Fortune Magazine Section titled “Investing in Biotech” Dec 9, 2003.
Others include www.biocentury, www.bioworld.com, www.recap.com,and www.windover.com
If you would like to read a good book on biotech investing read
The Biotech Investor
How to profit from the
coming boom in Biotechnology
Tom Abate 2003
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