By: Zeynep Tokuz
Many people have probably heard the phrase "success comes with great challenges." Similarly, the growing field of biotechnology has a lot of challenges and risks that come across in the field that prevent the development of drugs. These challenges are primarily designed to ensure individuals' safety and privacy. We'll talk about three of the many challenges that many biotechnologists face today: financial challenges, a lack of “biotechnicians," and keeping up with new policies.
Monetary Challenges
Monetary wise is where things get complicated and is probably one of the biggest challenges for those working in the biotech field. Finding funds to support their projects is one of these challenges. Billions of dollars are spent on just the research and development of a new drug, not to mention the risk of failure. Because of that big risk, many biotech companies struggle to find patents and funds to start new projects and develop new drugs and medicine. And all of this is excluding the rising costs of healthcare and drugs, not forgetting to mention the ones who control the prices, the biotech companies themselves. Although there are many calls for government interference for the decrease in the soaring high prices, this is the only way these biotech companies earn their profit.
Biotechnicans (change topic name to something cooler)
The phrase “Biotechnology” was coined in 1919 by Karl Erkey, a Hungarian Engineer, and started to rise in 1978 when the first human insulin was produced for the first time. Biotechnology is a fairly new field of study and although there are many well-qualified candidates, companies are getting more selective when they seek out employees. “biotech firms now seek employees with harder-to-find skills. More companies than ever incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) and process analytical technology (PAT) into their practices. As a result, firms seek professionals with expertise in engineering, data analytics, process development, and related emerging fields. The biotech boom in 2020 only furthered the problem, increasing the need for—but not the supply of—top talent.” (Velocity Global).
Policies
To ensure public safety and not just throw in some random drug into the marketplace, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) puts in place policies and rules that biotech companies must comply with. The FDA also keeps close watch during specific trials such as human testing. During these trials, the product may seem to not turn out as expected, leading the whole study up to failure. Statistics also show that “ around 36% of drugs fail to make it past the preliminary stage of drug development. The same report states that another 68% don’t make it past the intermediate stage while 40% get knocked out in the final stage. ” (DrugPatentWatch). “Five out of every 5,000 compounds discovered in pre-clinical trials ever makes it past the first few phases of the process. Of those five compounds, one is granted FDA-approval status. ”(''Biotech Risks - the Numerous Challenges of This Rapidly Developing Sector | Founder Shield”). These all just come to show just how difficult the process of having your studies and your research approved by the FDA is.
Going back to the phrase “success comes with great challenges”, there isn’t anything in life that will come easily. You will always have to work hard to achieve success, whether or not it is in the biotech field. We just have to find a way to find enjoyment through the difficult process because failure is what should drive us forward into success.
Sources:
“Biotech Risks - the Numerous Challenges of This Rapidly Developing Sector | Founder Shield.” Founder Shield, Oct. 2020, foundershield.com/blog/biotech-risks-the-numerous-challenges-of-this-rapidly-developing-sector/.
DrugPatentWatch. “Top 6 Issues Facing the Biotechnology Industry.” DrugPatentWatch - Make Better Decisions, DrugPatentWatch, 29 Jan. 2018, www.drugpatentwatch.com/blog/top-6-issues-facing-biotechnology-industry/.
“Top Challenges Facing Biotech Today and Tackling Them | ETQ.” ETQ, 20 June 2022, www.etq.com/blog/top-3-challenges-facing-biotech-today-and-how-to-tackle-them/.
Velocity Global. “How to Overcome Three Challenges Facing Biotech Companies in 2021 - Velocity Global.” Velocity Global, 26 Mar. 2021, velocityglobal.com/blog/overcome-three-biotech-challenges-2021/.
Verma, AshishSwarup, et al. “Biotechnology in the Realm of History.” Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences, vol. 3, no. 3, 2011, p. 321, https://doi.org/10.4103/0975-7406.84430.
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