Biotechnology is recognized as one of the emerging areas in science and technology having significant potential with a wide array of applications in healthcare, agriculture, process industry and service sectors. The range of applications in biotechnology is vast and almost all fields of life sciences are covered under biotechnology. The outputs obtained after extensive research not only solves the issues affecting the human mankind but also generate revenues and employment. It is perceived as a revolution throughout the world and scientist through research and development has developed and continue to develop cures for diseases that have affected the mankind for decades.
In the field of agriculture, scientists have developed crops that can withstand the brutality of pest infestation, extreme weather conditions, and in the process helping farmers to improve their productivity and return on investment. A significant impact has also come on the environment, through remediation of degraded soil and water, and usage of biological waste to generate manure etc for profit. The biotechnologies being used in other sectors have also had an impact on the environment by reducing the use of chemicals as well as energy.
One of the emerging areas in biotechnology which can play an important role in global economy includes Nanotechnology which is expected to become a trillion dollar industry by 2015. Nanotechnology aims to address a whole host of issues in varied industries by trimming down the size of particles to one millionth of a meter. The use of nanoparticles as carriers of photo sensitizers is an important approach as these materials can meet all the requirements that are essential for an excellent Photodynamic therapy (PDT). PDT agent is anticipated to play a significant role in the treatment of cancer involving the uptake of a photo sensitizer by cancer tissue which would eventually followed by photo irradiation. The use of various bio-degradable polymers in nano-medicine enable the delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs to the target tissue specifically with low or negligible side effects. The pharmacokinetics of nano-medicines also improved with slow delivery of the drug and longer half-life in the blood stream.
Genetic engineering principles have contributed appreciably to the superior production of various value-added commodity chemicals and materials from renewable resources in the past few decades. Transgenic research using genetic engineering technology have improved the crop yield and quality to compete the increasing food demand. Development of various molecular breeding techniques, genome projects, and bioinformatic tools increased the scope of plant-biologist to extend the plant system to human health with edible vaccines, plant based drugs and plantibodies.
Recently, genetic engineering has also been advanced to the systems level by the amalgamated application of global technologies of systems biology, synthetic biology and rational–random mutagenesis through evolutionary engineering. With the use of these principles enhanced amounts in production of synthetic and natural chemicals and materials have been better optimized in a multiplexed way on a genome scale, which eventually reduced time and effort required for synthesising the same. Current global developments in systems and metabolic engineering for the production of chemicals and materials offer gigantic scope for design and development of novel products.
The swift developments occurring in high-yielding and robust manufacturing processes for the synthesis and production of monoclonal antibodies is a crucial area with profuse potential in the biopharmaceutical sector. Optimization strategies in mammalian cell culture techniques have elevated the concentrations to more the 5 g/l mark. Integrated approaches in downstream processes have become extensively important for enhanced production titres. Constant improvement in these areas is happening as experience with a wider range of substrates and products are experimented. The increased cell culture productivity has attracted the attention of bioprocess engineers for constant improvements in downstream operations of fermentation processes. This has increased curiosity in the use of non-chromatographic separation processes and the current state-of-the-art industrial production processes, which primarily focuses on several downstream technologies, for antibodies and antibody-related products is expected to contribute significantly in the near future.
Biocatalysis is rapidly gaining importance and is now considered as an important component in the field of drug discovery. The biopharmaceutical industry requires a momentum of development that must be in parallel with conventional chemistry and also needs to have a high optical purity for isolated complex compounds. Micro-scale technology is an important aspect for high-speed catalyst screening and process development with an amalgamation of biology and engineering with chemistry. Advances in recombinant technology have further expanded the range of biocatalysis application to new chemistries to facilitate catalyst design to meet the process requirements. Supplementary expansion of biocatalysis field provides immense scope for green chemistry with high yields.
Another important area that is attracting the interest of researchers is microalgae technology, which contains higher lipid content than those of agricultural crops, and they do not require the usage of cultivable land. Despite this vast potential microalga-based processes are undergoing several constraints due to bioreactor and strain, which hinders economic feasibility of the project. Vigorous research and development efforts worldwide have initiated research in this field and are promising solutions that have been anticipated from amalgamation of interdisciplinary branches. Biofuels from microalgae holds immense potential and promising future, However a fully competitive technology can be anticipated only after some time since much needed concerted efforts have to be done in this sector.
India also holds immense potential in this sector compared to many other countries of the world. Indian sub-continent has the most varied species of flora and fauna which are important sources of biotechnologies. Additionally, India is recognized as a mega bio-diversity zone and is amongst the 12 hotspots in the world. India is uniquely positioned to harness the biotechnology potential in view of its capacities including the availability of a strong pool of scientists and engineers, a large reservoir of scientific human resources, affordable manufacturing capabilities, numerous medical colleges, educational and training institutes providing diplomas and degrees in biotechnology, a large number of national research laboratories engaging thousands of scientists, fast developing clinical capabilities, and a vibrant drugs and pharmaceutical industry.
Biotech industry in India during the FY 2010-11 touched the US $ 4.0 billion mark (17,249.34 crore), growing at a high rate of 21.5 per cent over the last financial year’s revenues of US $ 3.0 billion (14,199 crores) with biopharma contributing 61 per cent share in the biotech industry revenue. Bio-agri remained the fastest growing segment recording 28 percent growth over last year, followed by Bio services (23 per cent) and Biopharma (20.7 per cent). The exports across segments made up 51 per cent of the overall revenue contributing a total of 8852.34 crore. The ratio between exports and domestic sales stands at 51:49, which is a sign of a robust industry. However, as per the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17), Government of India anticipates to increase the spending on R&D from the current 0.9 per cent of GDP to two per cent of GDP which can aid in fostering innovations in certain niche areas of biotechnology which have a vital role to play in the economic development of the nation. However, Indian biotech industry contribution is less than three per cent of the global biotech market.
However, with the overwhelming benefits this sector is poised to offer to the society, it is equally important to ensure that the micro-organisms we use for commercial exploitation of novel products and processes should be safe and conforms with the regulatory norms of various nations.
The author is Editor, Current Trends in Biotechnology and Pharmacy & Professor and Head, Department of Biotechnology,
Acharya Nagarjuna University, A.P