Trends in Biotechnology, Drugs, Genetics & Healthcare Industry

Ethanol Production Soared, But a Market Glut May Slow Expansion

 New Money Pours into Biotech Firms/Mergers and Acquisitions Surge Ahead
 Major Drug Companies Bet on Partnerships With Smaller Biotech Research Firms
 From India to Singapore to Australia, Nations Compete Fiercely in Biotech Development
 Medical Trials Conducted Abroad Spark Concerns
 Gene Therapies and Patients’ Genetic Profiles Promise a Personalized Approach to Medicine
 Breakthrough Drugs for Cancer Treatment—Many More Will Follow
 Few New Blockbusters: Major Drug Patents Expire While Generic Sales Growth Continues
 Biotech and Orphan Drugs Pick Up the Slack as Blockbuster Mainstream Drugs Age
 Biogenerics (Follow-on Biologics) are in Limbo in the U.S.
 Breakthrough Drug Delivery Systems Evolve
 Stem Cells—Multiple Sources Stem from New Technologies
 Stem Cells—Therapeutic Cloning Techniques Advance
 Stem Cells—A New Era of Regenerative Medicine Takes Shape
 Nanotechnology Converges with Biotech
 Agricultural Biotechnology Scores Breakthroughs but Causes Controversy/Selective Breeding Offers a
Compromise
 Focus on Vaccines
 Ethical Issues Abound
 Technology Discussion—Genomics
 Technology Discussion—Proteomics
 Technology Discussion—Microarrays
 Technology Discussion—DNA Chips
 Technology Discussion—SNPs (“Snips”)
 Technology Discussion—Combinatorial Chemistry
 Technology Discussion—Synthetic Biology
 Technology Discussion—Recombinant DNA
 Technology Discussion—Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
 Continued Rise in Health Care Costs
 Employers Push Health Care Costs onto Employees/On-Site Clinics Begin to Appear
 Medicare and Medicaid Spending Continue to Surge/Baby Boomers Pass 65 Years of Age Soon
 Medicare Changes Include Drug Benefits for Seniors/Medicare Advantage Offers Private Fee for Service Plans
 Vast Number of Uninsured and Underinsured Americans
 Universal Health Care Attempted on the Local Level
 Few New Blockbusters: Major Drug Patents Expire While Generic Sales Growth Continues
 Biotech and Orphan Drugs Pick Up the Slack as Blockbuster Mainstream Drugs Age
 Quality of Care and Health Care Outcomes Data Become Available Online
 Malpractice Suits Are Blamed for Rising Health Care Costs/Tort Reform Is Capping Awards for Damages
 Hospitals are Reengineering
 Obesity Sparks Government Action
 Health Care Goes Offshore, Medical Tourism and Clinical Trials Thrive in China, India and Elsewhere
 Disease Management Programs Take Root
 Clinics Open in Retail Store Settings