GOVERNMENT & POLICY TAKING OFF In 2001, R&D in the biotechnology industry accounted for 10% of U.S. industrial R&D, according to a Department of Commerce study.
EVALUATING BIOTECHNOLOGY Department of Commerce survey reveals effects of growing field on industry
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IOTECHNOLOGY-RELATED Ac-
tivity is a strong driver of innovation in the U.S. economy, reports a study released last month by the Technology Administration and the Bureau of Industry & Security at the Department of Commerce with help from the Department of Labor. The study—based on a 2002 survey of more than 1,000 companies that identified themselves as being involved with biotechnology—represents the first set of comprehensive data about this industry collected by the federal government. T h e report, "A Survey of the Use of Biotechnology in U.S. Industry" (http://www technologygov/reports/Biotechnology/CD 120a_0310.pdf), is the result of a two-year effort to provide a better understanding of the industry to policymakers and to help U.S. statistical agencies develop methods to measure biotech activity The study contains information about current applications of biotechnology, the economic health of biotech-related business, and the future outlook of this growing industry "The report presents an interesting snapshot of what's going on with this particular technology area," says Karen LaneyCummings, director of the Office of Technology Competitiveness at Commerce. This snapshot will be useful to many different parties, from policymakers to universities to the industry itself—all of 32
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whom want to get a better understanding of the developing biotech field, she says. To get this information, Commerce surveyed 1,031 companies engaged in biotechrelated activities. Of those firms, 65% were classified as part of either the medical substance and devices sector or the scientific research and development sector. The remainingfirmswere scattered across a range of industrial areas, including 4.4% from the chemical manufacturing sector. The focus of the surveyed biotech companies was also found to be diverse. While the study reports that more than 75% of the firms identified human health as their primary or secondary biotech application, there was a wide range of other uses. "So many companies in a wide variety of industries are trying to apply biotechnology or think about how the techniques of biotechnology can be applied to improve manufacturing processes," LaneyCummings says. "This is not just a human health phenomenon." In fact, the report shows that 12 to 14% of firms chose animal health, agriculture and aquaculture, or industrial and agricultural-derived processing as their primary or secondary biotech application. Another 4 to 5% selected marine and terrestrial microbial or environmental remediation and natural resource recovery as part of their focus. Sixteen percent of the firms indicated that all or part of their biotech ac-
tivities fall outside the above categories, "which underscores the difficulty of categorizing biotechnology," the study notes. The diversity ofuses has helped biotech become an important part ofthe U.S. economy The study indicates that in 2001, surveyed firms spent $ 16.4 billion on biotechrelated R & D - 1 0 % of the total R & D investment by US. industry for the year. The breakdown of R & D activity by company size showed that small firms of fewer than 500 employees had a higher R&D investment as compared with medium to large firms. This fact is significant because 9 0 % of the surveyed firms reported fitting into this smaller size category According to the study, the small companies also had the fastest workforce growth rate, with companies of 50 to 499 employees having an average growth rate of 17.3% from 2 0 0 0 to 2002. The slowest growth rate among biotech companies was seen in the large firms with more than 10,000 employees—less than 5% of the surveyed firms—which grew at a rate of 6.2%. But, as the study points out, "even this rate outpaced all nonfarm payroll employment, which remained essentially constant during the period." THE BIGGEST beneficiaries of this biotech growth were computer specialists, who saw an annual workforce growth rate of 21.8% from 2 0 0 0 to 2002, the study reports. Employment of science and clinical lab technicians grew at a rate of 13.8% annually, while positions for scientists and engineers each grew nearly 11% per year. To help ensure continued growth, the report also looked at barriers to the advancement of the field. More than half of the responding firms cited regulatory approval, research costs, and access to startup funding as posing high barriers to future biotech developments. One-third of the group also noted that patent issues— such as fees and rights held by third parties—threaten to slow advancement. "This survey provides an important window for policymakers into one of our nation's most innovative and entrepreneurial sectors," said Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif), chairman of the House Rules Committee, in a statement. "I look forward to Congress and the Administration using the report to develop policies that promote the health and competitiveness of the biotechnology industry"—SUSAN M0RRISSEY HTTP://WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG
