Biotechnology is the use of technology to modify or manipulate living systems or parts of living systems for the generation of useful products, biological processing, to treat disease or to acquire knowledge. Products manufactured or processed using biotechnology are found in agricultural, pharmaceutical, food, chemical and biofuel industries. Biotechnology is also used in waste treatment.
Biotechnology is used to modify living systems or parts of living systems based on knowledge about essential parts or processes which allow living things to grow, reproduce, use resources and respond to their environment.
- RNA
- Transcription
- Translation
- Protein
- Genetics
- Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP)
- Genomics
- Nutritional genomics
- Proteomics
- Enzyme
- Cell
- Microbiology
- Metabolism
- Cellular respiration
- Phenomics
- Phosphorylation
- Kinase
- DNA methylation
- DNA methylation landscape
- Inverton (invertible DNA regions)
- Aptamer
Biotechnology tools have been developed in research areas such as molecular biology, biochemistry, immunology, genetics, microbiology, cell biology and agriculture.
- Fermentation
- Plant selection and breeding
- Animal selection and breeding
- Microbial strain isolation
- Microbial strain improvement
- RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism)
- Nucleic acid amplification: PCR (polymerase chain reaction), digital PCR, LAMP, RT-LAMP
- Restriction enzyme
- Recombinant DNA
- Recombinant protein
- Recombineering
- Lambda red recombination
- Programmed chromosome fission and fusion
- Codon optimization
- Transfection
- Transformation
- Cell culture
- Plant tissue culture
- Immunoassay
- Gel electrophoresis
- Bioinformatics
- Optogenetics
- Gene drive
- Perturb-seq
- Organ-on-a-chip
- Chimeric antigen receptors (CARs)
- Engineered regulatory T cells (Tregs)
- Gene therapy
- Non-viral gene therapy
- Microfluidic cell sorting
- DNA sequencing
- RNA sequencing
- Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq)
- amplicon sequencing
- 16s sequencing
- 18s sequencing
- CIDER-Seq
- CRISPR
- CRISPR/Cas Tools
- CRISPR-Cas3
- CRISR-Cas9
- CRISPR-Cas12a
- CRISPR-Cas12d
- CRISPR-Cas12e
- CRISPR-Cas13
- CRISPR-Cas13a
- CRISPR-Cas13b
- CRISPR-Cas13d
- Epigenetic CRISPR-Cas9
- Anti-CRISPR proteins
- Homology-independent targeted insertion (HITI)
- SATI (intercellular linearized Single homology Arm donor mediated intron-Targeting Integration)
Biomaterials interact with biological systems. They can be natural or synthetic, alive or lifeless and are made of multiple components. Biomaterials are often used in medical applications.
- Hyaluronic acid
- Graphene-based biomaterials
Biomolecules, also called biological molecules, are molecules produced by cells of living organisms. DNA, RNA and enzymes are examples of biomolecules. The following are biomolecules with uses in pharmaceuticals, food, cosmetics or textiles.
- Hyaluronic acid
- spider silk, recombinant spider silk is produced by Kraig Biocraft Laboratories
- Mycotech
Mapping projects serve as reference manuals to living systems by showing the organization of components within living organisms. Mapping projects promote the sharing of biological information.
- Abbvie
- Amgen
- Roche
- GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)
- Gilead
- Novartis
- Merck
- Actelion (acquired by Johnson & Johnson)
- Sanofi
- Pfizer
- Adare Pharmaceuticals
- Genentech
- Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine
The following companies are using biotechnology in disease research and in development and production of medicine or therapies for a range of injuries or illnesses.
- Xycrobe Therapeutics
- Rani Therapeutics
- Aryx Therapeutics
- Ablitech, Inc.
- Abraxis Bioscience
- ZenCapsule (cancer treatments)
- Evox Therpeutics (exosome delivery)
- Anjarium Biosciences (engineered exosomes)
- Kala Pharmaceuticals (ocular conditions)
- Akebia Therapeutics
- Visterra (antibody-based medicines)
- Argos Therapeutics
- Circle Pharma
- Karyopharm Therapeutics
- Jounce Therapeutics
- Delve Therapeutics
- Mersana Therapeutics
- G1 Therapeutics
- Stelvio Therapeutics
- Mirna Therapeutics
- Stemline Therapeutics
- Chrysalis Therapeutics
- CytomX Therapeutics
- OncoVista Innovative Therapies
- Iconic Therapeutics
- Cellerant Therapeutics
- Sierra Oncology (previously ProNAi Therapeutics)
- Sorrento Therapeutics
- IRX Therapeutics
- Galera Therapeutics
- Affimed Therapeutics
- Fate Therapeutics
- OncoSenX
- Abraxis Bioscience
- Simpatica Medicine
- SF17 Therapeutics
- Autolus
- Cell Design Labs
- iOx Therapeutics
- Argonaut Therapeutics
- Genentech
- Fusion Pharmaceuticals
- Ziopharm Oncology
- Amicus Therapeutics
- BioMarin
- PTC Therapeutics
- Hyperion Therapeutics
- Tevard Biosciences
- Recursion Pharmaceuticals
- Loyalhanna Therapeutics
- TG Therapeutics
- SF17 Therapeutics
- Simpatica Medicine
- BlueRock Therapeutics
- Diadem Biotherapeutics
- Rodin Therapeutics
- Nuon Therapeutics
- Cognition Therapeutics
- Voyager Therapeutics
- Synosia Therapeutics
- Kernel
- Renew BioPharma
- Rheostat Therapeutics
- Leucadia Therapeutics
- Alzheon
- Neuraly
- BlueRock Therapeutics
- AbCellera Biologics
- Clover Biopharmaceuticals
- Distributed Bio
- Inovio Pharmaceuticals
- Meissa Vaccines
- Microsynbiotix (oral vaccines for aquaculture produced in algae)
- Moderna
- Novavax
- Regeneron
- Sanofi Pasteur
- Stemirna Therapeutics
- Swiftscale Biologics
- VIR Biotechology
- Emergex Vaccines Holding Limited
- Ligandal
Theranostics combines diagnotics and therapeutics.
- Nova TheraNostics
- Theranostics Health
- Stem Cell Theranostics
- A&G Pharmaceutical
- Theranostics Australia
- Biotheranostics
- Radiomedix
Biotechnology is used by IVD companies to develop tests that detect diseases in vitro, meaning outside the body, from human samples like blood, urine and tissue. Molecular diagnostics are a subset of tests within IVD which detect DNA and RNA in order to assess health. Examples are detection of disease-causing gene mutations or presence of viral DNA or RNA. Detection of proteins using antibodies is considered separate from molecular diagnostics but falls under IVD. In addition to molecular diagnostics and immunoassays, the IVD market also includes clinical chemistry, hematology analyzers and microbiology culture.
- Mammoth Biosciences
- Abbott Diagnostics division of Abbott Laboratories
- Roche Diagnostics
- Siemens Healthineers
- Danaher Corporation
- Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.
- Illumina
- Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.
- LabCorp
- Luminex Corporation
- QIAGEN
- Quest Diagnostics
- Sysmex Corporation
- Grail
- Clear Gene
- Exosome Diagnostics
- Cofactor Genomics
- Owlstone Medical
- Caspr Biotech
- Molecular Stethoscope
- Cas12a based DETECTR system to detect viruses
- Cas12a based HOMES system to detect viruses and small nucleotide polymorphism sites in human DNA related to health and personal characteristics
- Cas12- and Cas13- based molecular diagnostics by Mammoth Biosciences
- CRISPR-on-a-chip for cancer diagnostics
- 23andMe
- Ancestry
- HomeDNA
- Living DNA
- Gene-by-Gene provides Family Tree DNA
- Gene-by-Gene runs the Genographics Project labs which uses the National Geographic Geno DNA Kit
- African Ancestry
- Full Genomes
- DNA Tribes
- Vivax Bio and its subsidiary, 3D Bioprinting Solutions
The following companies that produce instruments, kits, reagents and computer software for basic and applied biological research.
- Merck KGaA
- Qiagen
- GenScript
- Berkeley Lights
- TouchLight
- National Institute of Standards and Technology
- Asimov (Biotechnology)
- A-Alpha Bio
- Oxford Genetics
- SunP Biotech
- Labcyte
- Abgent
- Bento Bioworks developed a portable DNA analysis kit called Bento Lab
- Refeyn
- Chai Biotechnologies
- Arbor Biosciences
- Air Protein
- Amai Proteins
- Proterro
- Solar Foods
- MiProbes (biosensor for food contamination)
- Apeel Sciences
- Monsanto
- Bayer CropScience
- DowDuPont
- Syngenta
- AquaBounty
- Caribou Biosciences
- Benson Hill Biosystems
- MoA Technology
- Deinove
- Pando Nutrition
- Proterro (feed industry)
- Oxitec (insect-based control of disease-carrying mosquitoes and crop-damaging insects)
First generation biofuels include ethanol and plant oil produced from sugar and starch. Second generation biofuels are produced from non-food biomass called lignocellulose and are called cellulosic biofuels. Third generation biofuels are derived from algae and produce feedstock as well as fuel. Fourth generation biofuels are electrofuels or photobiological solar fuels.
The ability of blockchain to facilitate transparency, control and sharing of information, while keeping data secure, is being applied to biotechnology. Blockchain technology in data storage and online platforms can improve sharing and access to information and also provide quicker ways for tracking and managing various steps in drug development.
For immunotherapies such as CAR-T cell therapy, blockchain can provide ways to store, maintain, track and secure information about cells derived from a donor patient like editing performed, storage conditions and transport from donor to recipient. Information must be accessible to patients, physicians, laboratory scientists, logistics companies, supply chains and infusion centers.
- Nebula Genomics (genome sequencing company)
- Genexi (blockchain and cryptocurrency marketplace)
- Orvium (scientific publishing)
- Transtech Conference
- International Conference on Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology
- Discovery On Target
- BIO-Europe
- Biotech Showcase
- Cell Series USA
- The American Society of Human Genetics annual meeting
- The American Society for Cell Biology annual meeting
Timeline
People
Further reading
1H 2019 biopharma startup and VC report
Richard Murphey
Web
7/9/2019
Documentaries, videos and podcasts
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References
Contributors
- 1
Meredith Hanel
Medical Genetics PhD, following life science applications that improve the health of humans and our planet. - 2
Carla Faraguna
Golden People and Operations. - 3
Dawson Sewell
Writing about startups. - 4
Arthur Smalley
MSc Radiation Detection and Instrumentation & BSc Physics. - 5
Melanie Manipula
Helping organize knowledge. - 6
Vi Chang
Engineering mind with a design eye. Lifelong learner committed to self-improvement. - 7
Jude Gomila
Founder and CEO of Golden, Entrepreneur. Investor in 200+ companies. Cantabrigian (Gonville and Caius). Interested in the Universe. - 8
Alex Dean
Healthcare Research Analyst @ Veradigm | Masters in Biostatistics/Epidemiology: UC Berkeley | BA in Biology: Wesleyan University - 9
Charles Petty
Principal at Adjuvant Capital - 10
Richard Murphey
Founder of Bay Bridge Bio, previously biotech investor, founder and financial analyst