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Team:Arizona State E/Challenges
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| + | <h2>Current Model</h2> | ||
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| + | Dedicated biotechnology firms (DBFs) are often the considered the classic model. DBFs mainly translate scientific discoveries and technological inventions made by researchers in universities and hospitals into commercial products. The business model depends on financing from venture capital firms, an initial public offering on the stock market, selling licenses, or working as a joint venture with a larger firm. | ||
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| + | The second business model is vertically integrated firms, which often are larger firms than DBFs. Vertically integrated firms are involved in the entire process of developing a product from research and development, production, distribution, and marketing. These firms also provide a market for the discoveries of DBFs. | ||
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| + | Both business models form a symbiotic relationship where DBFs provide vertically integrated firms with services and access to potentially valuable technologies through joint ventures. DBFs receive revenue and assets such as sales and distribution chains via vertically integrated firms. Research and development is an expensive process and often requires a joint effort to sustain the business. | ||
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<h2>Challenges</h2> | <h2>Challenges</h2> | ||
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Revision as of 01:19, 28 October 2012
Current Model
Dedicated biotechnology firms (DBFs) are often the considered the classic model. DBFs mainly translate scientific discoveries and technological inventions made by researchers in universities and hospitals into commercial products. The business model depends on financing from venture capital firms, an initial public offering on the stock market, selling licenses, or working as a joint venture with a larger firm.
The second business model is vertically integrated firms, which often are larger firms than DBFs. Vertically integrated firms are involved in the entire process of developing a product from research and development, production, distribution, and marketing. These firms also provide a market for the discoveries of DBFs.
Both business models form a symbiotic relationship where DBFs provide vertically integrated firms with services and access to potentially valuable technologies through joint ventures. DBFs receive revenue and assets such as sales and distribution chains via vertically integrated firms. Research and development is an expensive process and often requires a joint effort to sustain the business.
Challenges
Despite the growth potential in synthetic biology, there are challenges and obstacles to this industry. The quality of parts is unpredictable, undermining the use of standard parts in synthetic biology. The industry is characterized by long testing times and a high cost because of the research and development. For example, it took 150 years of work to uncover genes to control the expression of artemisinin. Even if the quality of parts can be upheld, there is variability within the biological system. Despite these challenges, researchers and biotechnology companies are providing innovative solutions to these problems. BIOFAB is currently professionally producing and characterizing new and existing synthetic biology parts. The BioBrick standard is a pre-defined flanking sequence that can reduce the amount of time to produce. Industrial machinery can assemble these parts. Lastly, researchers are developing systems that operate independently of the cell that allows freedom to tweak without disrupting the survival of the cell. This can help reduce the variability within biological systems[http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100120/full/463288a.html].
