Biotechnology is one of the fastest-growing technologies in terms of applications. Biotechnology can be defined as the application of life sciences to the improvement of health.
The opening lecture corresponding to the Chair of Technological Innovation describes the birth of this technology thirty years ago, its evolution, its main characteristics, its problems and its challenges for the future. Several points will be developed.
Firstly, its evolution from companies essentially focused on a particular technology, such as recombinant protein expression, to companies very close to the big pharmaceutical companies using all modern techniques, including medicinal chemistry, to discover new drugs.
The various stages of innovation in biotechnology will then be described. In particular, the role of universities and their interactions with biotech companies will be discussed. Then, all the steps involved in transforming a scientific discovery into a drug will be detailed. Following this description of the industry, an analysis will be made of the disparity between American and European companies.
Of the world's twenty largest biotech companies, nineteen are based in the USA and only one, Actelion, is based in Europe. There are a number of structural and historical reasons for this widening gap. In particular, the role of entrepreneurial culture and the importance of top-performing universities are highlighted.
Finally, the major problems facing biotechnology, and in particular the rising cost of healthcare, are described and solutions proposed. These challenges for the future of biotechnology should not obscure the extraordinary progress that this technology will bring.
Medical progress is currently increasing average life expectancy by one year every four years. Thanks to biotechnology, it is likely that this trend will not only continue, but perhaps even accelerate.