Course
The Biotechnology Industry Overview: Version 2
Skillsoft
Updated Mar 19, 2018Unlocking the potential of biotechnology entails turning scientific knowledge into products that can enhance, and even transform, the conditions of life. A relatively new but growing, global industry, biotechnology involves engineering biological molecules and microbes with desirable new properties. This re-engineering of natural organisms can lead to the development of new and better drugs, medical treatments customized for an individual's biological makeup, disease-resistant crops, and new industrial processes. Some of biotechnology's promises have been delivered, but many have not. False starts are common in an industry where the development of new products is uncertain, time consuming, and expensive. Companies in the industry face other obstacles as well – pricing pressures and a decline in funding, for example. To address such challenges, industry players can adopt new cost-cutting and efficiency measures or partner with other biotechnology or pharmaceutical firms. They also need to deal with increased regulation and strong moral opposition to their activities – particularly in the field of genetic engineering. In response, biotechnology companies seek to educate the wider community about their activities and justify the benefits and safety of those activities to the public, the government, and investors. In this course, you'll find out more about these and other strategies, as well as about key areas of the biotechnology industry, including its main sectors, what drives it, current trends, and top competitors. This course was updated in 2015.
