The first aim of the biotechnology trade is to invent new biologically-active substances, for the therapy of illness, the pharmaceutical trade, and the administration of agriculture.

The U.S. is the world chief in biotechnology, at present offering employment for greater than 300,000 folks in over 6,000 U.S. biotech firms, with an estimated market capitalization of roughly USD 281 billion in 2008. The biotechnology trade has greater than tripled in dimension since 2000, with revenues rising from USD 25 billion in 2000 to greater than USD 80 billion in 2008. In 2007, Amgen, Inc., the world’s largest biotechnology firm, achieved complete gross sales of USD 14.7 billion. Expectations are that the biotechnology market will improve to greater than USD 130 billion by 2011.

Geographically, the U.S. accounts for 65% of the biotechnology market, Europe 23%, Canada 7%, Australia 3%, and the remainder of the world, 2%.

In the present day, genomics and bioinformatics improvement each are being pursued inside main pharmaceutical firms. There have been key collaborations with conventional IT expertise firms reminiscent of IBM, Hitachi, Ltd., Samsung, SK Telecomm and Motorola. The U.S. biotechnology analysis and pharmaceutical trade spent a report USD 8.5 billion in 2007 on the R&D of latest medicines and vaccines. As of 2006, the biotechnology trade in contrast favorably with the pharmaceutical trade by way of R&D expenditures per worker. Enterprise capital investments in bioscience firms reached USD 11.6 billion in 2007.

Ernst & Younger reported that in 2006, 82 publicly-traded Canadian biotech corporations claimed S3.2 billion in income, accounting for 4.4% of worldwide biotech revenues. Human well being accounts for the biggest phase of the Canadian biotech trade, representing greater than half the curiosity of all biotech firms, roughly 70% of all biotech revenues and practically 90% of all biotech R&D. Bioinforrnatics offers an vital functionality for the Canadian biotech trade, encompassing genomics and different “omics”, tissue engineering and drug discovery expertise.

Canadian bioinformatics firms embody Bioinformatics Options, Inc., DNA LandMarks, Inc., and Kinexus Bioinformatics Company. Montreal, Quebec, has Canada’s main biotech cluster, adopted by Toronto, Ontario; Vancouver, British Columbia; and Winnipeg, Manitoba.

5 European Union (E.U.) member states-Denmark, Finland, Germany, Sweden and the U.Ok.-continue to be world leaders in biotech innovation together with the U.S. and Japan. Within the second half’ of 2007, European biotech firms reached USD 765.3 million in enterprise capital funding. In January and February of 2008, enterprise capital funds invested a complete of USD 145.6 million into new European biotech firms; nevertheless, with the financial stresses of the latter a part of the yr, many European biotech corporations could discover it more durable to lift cash in early 2009.

The Biotechnology Trade Group of Germany (BlO Deutschland), situated in Berlin, has greater than 180 members, together with firms, BioRegions, and sector service suppliers. The aim of the group is to help and promote a secure financial system by means of innovation in bioscience. Among the many German biotech firms are the Biotechnology Analysis and Data Community (BRAIN AG), 4SC. AG, Bionas, UmbEl and Direvo, which not too long ago (September 2008) was bought by the German pharmaceutical and chemical compounds big Bayer HealthCare. In view of’ the burgeoning German biotech sector, conventional German scientific firms like Eppendorf, AG, Sartorius, AG and Qiagen even have gotten into the act.