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We are in the midst of biotechnology revolution that is profoundly transforming medicine, agriculture, material science, the military, and even our sense of self. There are new biological materials grown instead of manufactured, high-yield, high-nutrition agricultural crops, artificial organs and tissues for transplant surgery, and a stream of discoveries of genes for particular diseases. In the business arena, patents for new gene sequences are filed daily, computer companies are designing and selling high-end computer systems capable of manipulating and storing the terabytes of data that the industry is generating, and pharmaceutical companies are positioning themselves to benefit from the flood of genomic data either by developing competence inhouse, or by acquiring established biotech companies. The ethics of genetically modified crops, human clones, and embryonic stem cell research are hotly debated by legislators, religious leaders, and the lay public. This book is designed to provide CEOs and other upper-level managers with a comprehensive, critical analysis of the biotechnology business from a uniquely global perspective. It looks beyond the hype of the getrich-quick investment schemes and focuses instead on the technological, sociopolitical, and financial-infrastructure-building activities occurring worldwide. Private and government-sponsored laboratories worldwide are developing many of the core technologies that are driving the biotechnology business. Biotechnology is a diverse field dealing with the application of biological discoveries to industry, agriculture, and medicine. From an investment perspective, it has fallen victim to the same hype that plagued artificial intelligence (AI), real estate, junk bonds, and, most recently, dotcoms. The ongoing biotechnology revolution invites comparison and contrast with the information technology revolution of the previous century. Investment in biotechnology varies considerably from one country to the next by virtue of corporate and government funding, variations in public acceptance of biotechnology products, and the country’s political environment. This book is organized into eight chapters, with an Appendix, Glossary, and Bibliography. Chapter 1 Overview. This chapter provides an overview of the scope and focus of the biotechnology industry, in the context of the six interdependent areas most likely to dominate the field in the next decade: pharmaceuticals, medicine, agriculture, biomaterials, military applications, and computing. It reviews the social, political, and economic potential of the industry, from developing higher-performance fabrics for the military to developing cures for inborn diseases, to developing techniques, such as cloning, that enable research and development. The chapter also provides a glimpse of the best-case scenarios for the industry, as well as the significant hurdles that must be overcome for these hopes to become a reality. Chapter 2 Pharmaceuticals. This chapter explores the economics of the biotech pharmaceutical industry. Starting with a discussion of established markets, such as bulk enzymes, the specifics of the pharmaceutical market are described. Investment issues, including the rationale for investing in new biotech methods are outlined. The role of intellectual property protection, mergers, and modifying existing drugs in maintaining growth of large pharmaceutical firms is also considered. Chapter 3 Medicine and Agriculture. This chapter continues with the exploration of the economics of the biotech industry, but with a focus on medicines, gene therapies, improved agricultural output, and the ability to grow organs and tissues for transplantation. These technologies are discussed in terms of the challenges they face in the marketplace, as well as the potential they hold as vehicles for the next economic upswing. Chapter 4 Computing, Biomaterials, and Military. This chapter continues the discussion of the secondary biotech markets, with a focus on the contribution of the computing, biomaterials, and military biotech industries. Chapter 5 Infrastructure. This chapter explores the geopolitical, regulatory, social, technical, and labor infrastructures that are enabling activity in the biotechnology industry. It examines issues such as patent protection for pharmaceuticals, the migration of expertise from educational centers to potentially more lucrative areas in developing economies, and the effect of often conflicting regional and national regulations on innovation. Chapter 6 Financing. This chapter explores financing in biotech, including the global realities of the post-2000 market. It reviews the stakeholders in the primary and secondary biotech industries, and examines the significance of financing from the public, industry, government, academia, and venture capitalists. Chapter 7 Regional Analysis. This chapter explores the biotechnology developments, financial infrastructure, markets, and attitudes toward controversial areas of research and development in five key regions: North America; Latin America; Europe; Asia, Australia and Africa; and Japan. Parallels are made with financing strategies used with other industries. For example, as Mainland China and the Pacific Rim countries demonstrated in the 1980s and 1990s with the financing of the semiconductor industry, the region has several ways to acquire the resources necessary to become the dominant world power in biotech. Chapter 8 Outlook. This chapter provides the reader technical and business projections on the biotechnology sector. It provides the rationale behind the projections of the role for each region in capturing and controlling a range of technologies. For example, it explores how Singapore, Malaysia, and other countries in the Pacific Rim are jump-starting their biotech industries by bypassing the potentially painful and costly learning curve, just as these and other countries did with the cellular phone systems in the 1990s. It looks at the future use of a range of technologies from genetically modified foods to artificial organs, and their future economic impact.