Biotech is dead, long live biotech.
The Wall Street Journal claimed in 2009 that it was a dire time for the biotech industry. New firms had little cash, and the outlook was grim indeed, then come January 2010 and we see a report indicating that the industry raised a record breaking $55.8 bn, yes billion, despite unfriendly capital markets. Why, we’ll cover that later on today but for now, we’d like to introduce you to the Invisible Revolution of Biotechnology.
It’s no big surprise that what you tend to see on a daily basis in the realm of startup blogs, sites and otherwise material focuses on the mobile / the web / and new tech, this is simply due to the fact that these types of products are the most readily accessible by the consumer and therefore have the most mass media appeal.
Notwithstanding this invisible technological revolution is taking place at the same time as the ordinary tech one we see, hear about feel and touch on a daily basis; yet we deal with the invisible as well, where it affects us in ways unseen, it makes our lives better, makes us live longer, and helps not only us, but the environment.
This is Biotechnology. It’s unlike most anything else, not only because it’s “under the hood” of the media spotlight, nor because it can be anything from a geno-engineered microbe to a new form of high ethanol producing crops. It’s in its business model. You see, the web startup, or the software company can get a product to the shelf fairly quickly, with the web, if you have a good idea and some chips time to market can be as little as a few months if that, with biotech however, product development can take years, and oftentimes it will be a decade or more before the firm sees its first customer.
The biotech startup model is a complexly woven web which more than deserves its own analysis, and at the same time, and from the point of view of startup aficionados as ourselves it’s something breathtakingly beautiful.
So in the event you’re familiar with the industry, have a watch and enjoy, and if not, then welcome to the world which is Biotechnology. And a big thanks to the people at Europa Bio for putting this video together.
