Biotechnology: A Promising Investment Opportunity

A.B.M. Mushfiq-Uz-Zaman

Senior

Department of Marketing

School of Business

Independent University, Bangladesh

Are you already intrigued because the term “biotechnology” seems apocalyptic to you, as if this tech is a mad scientist’s brainchild with which they want to take over the world? Assuming the readers are somewhat equally divided between “I have no idea what I am reading” and “This is 2018, I know stuff”, I shall try to enlighten both stakeholders by defining biotechnology in simple terms.

Biotechnology in a nutshell means creating products using living systems and organisms. How do they do it? Well, it is done without altering Mother Nature’s usual flow of getting things done. Today’s world comprises of too many chemically aided goods, disrupting the natural balance of our eco system and resulting in pure havoc. Biotechnology can alter this scenario and a gradual development in different fields of biotechnology, such as biomedical engineering, bioengineering, bio manufacturing, molecular engineering and etc. can eventually lead to a more sustainable future for mother Earth.

To figure out the prospects of these promising fields and their probable growth through sufficient investment, we need to dig deeper into the science of biology and see how a combination of science and business can change the world both ethically and profitably.

Gene Therapy

Human gene transfer or gene therapy is a form of treatment for diseases where a patient undergoes therapy as nucleic acid is delivered into their cell. Nucleic acids are small biomolecules essential to all forms of life. Two principal nucleic acids are RNA and DNA which are found in abundance in all living things, where they function to create and encode and then store information in the nucleus of every living cell of every life-form organism on Earth.

On experimental basis, gene therapy was used to treat complex diseases such as acute lymphocytic leukemia, Parkinson’s disease and etc. where US companies invested over $600 million between 2013 and 2014 in the field. In 2013, the first commercial gene therapy was approved in China which was used to treat certain cancers. The following years have seen growth in gene therapy acceptance as Russia in 2011 treated peripheral artery disease whilst in 2012, “Glybera”, a treatment for a rare inherited disorder, became the first treatment to be approved for clinical use in either Europe or the United States after its endorsement by the European Commission.

It is not like gene transfer can only happen in humans to cure diseases since the same can also happen for plant life forms. Genetically modified crops have been popular in our own country, Bangladesh, where in 2013, “Bt”, i.e. biotech brinjal was successfully released as the country’s first commercially released biotech crop. The following success led to the testing and development of three more crops; Late blight resistant potato, Bt cotton and vitamin – A enriched golden rice.

Once released, late blight resistant potatoes will save farmers from spending a fortune in fungicides. Bt cotton will turn out to be a boost for the profitable cotton/textile industry of the country whilst golden rice could address the prevalent Vitamin A deficiency in the country.

The Fusion of the Unlikely and Its Consequences:

Proper investment, calculated risk and handsome return is the goal of all businesses and investment in vague ideas would be unlikely for any investor. Since science and its prospects plus business and its effective return cannot be vivid for both parties, an unlikely fusion is the only option we are left with. However, the end result can be beneficial for both. If investors show interest, more research and development can be carried out which can facilitate more development of biotechnology as a result of which, the number of end consumer will increase. This means, the current market gap can be fulfilled efficiently through economies of scale.

Gradually, we can hope to see a prosperous industry being built from scratch and boom as a whole. Our annual brain drain will be minimized substantially with opportunities for foreign students and researchers to contribute if offers remain lucrative which can enrich our international prestige.

The concept of biotechnology is immense by itself. Firstly, both parties involved needs to understand the best possible sector to invest in and research on. Even biogas as a form of renewable energy can be a promising sector to invest in if marketed correctly. Waste management, use of plastic and biodegradable products are gradually becoming popular with wide scope for first movers.

Therefore, the transition and the trend of accepting change needs to develop among everyone if we are to see sustainable growth in the following arena. Change is crucial but if done ethically while keeping it profitable, it can affect the lives of the mass positively and cater to a better version of the world tomorrow.

Mushfiq writes,

"Plain, simple and ordinary.

A marketer in the making, driven by coffee and dreams!
Favorite quote: '30 years from now, it won’t matter what jeans you wore or how your hair looked. What would matter is the things you have learned and how you have used it.'

Last but not the least, I am a car enthusiast who loves everything about cars, literally!"

Designer Babies: A Bioethics Perspective

Abrar Hamim Fayz
Sophomore
School of Life Sciences
Independent University, Bangladesh

January 4th, 2018

Humans often customize things that they possess, use, or consume to align them to their tastes. We do it with cars, houses, clothes, food, and many other things. But what about babies? Yes, modern biology has brought us to a point where we could very soon have babies with characteristics we desire. Sounds intriguing, doesn’t it?

We know genes control the features of an organism. It is possible to manipulate the characteristics of a baby before it develops by altering its genes when it is still an embryo. This can be done through genetic engineering, which has seen widespread application in other animals as well as plants and microbes. Current advances in this technology, led by the CRISPR-cas9 gene editing system, could allow safe and efficient manipulation of human embryos sooner rather than later.

One of the main potential advantages of editing embryos is to remove or fix genes that are responsible for hereditary genetic disorders like cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia and Huntington’s disease. Already this year, human embryos were edited to remove genetic defects underlying a hereditary heart condition. Even though this was experimental, and the embryos were not implanted for development, early results on the accuracy of the edits are promising. The technology would also allow people to produce what are often referred to as designer babies, with characteristics they consider desirable such as blue eyes, blonde hair, athletic build, and intelligence, creating what they perceive to be the perfect human.

But is it ethical? “Aren’t we trying to outsmart God’s creation?” Many already ask. It is illegal in many countries to even experiment on human embryos. There are no simple answers. If it is possible to preemptively fix cystic fibrosis, wouldn’t it be cruel not to? But it is conceivable that large numbers of people will prioritize good looks and intelligence to produce the aforementioned designer babies. The downstream consequences of this need to be considered. How would such trends affect the gene pool? Would we see a decline in genetic diversity? Designer babies could create a difference between normal humans and near-perfect ones, which would probably reflect economic differences between individuals who can and cannot afford the technology.

For any of this to be possible, the technology still needs to be perfected. Off target changes in gene sequences must be reliably avoided, for instance. Time will reveal whether one day we are going to be surrounded by near-perfect humans, but a little foresight may go a long way in tackling many of the ethical quandaries that will predictably arise.

Abrar is a second-year student in Microbiology. He writes:

"I love to play football, read books, and travel to gain more knowledge. I want to do something with genetics, as it is the most interesting topic I have known since I was a child."

Introducing GMOs

Ridwan Hossain
Freshman
School of Life Sciences
Independent University, Bangladesh

March 23rd, 2017

We are living in a time where technological advancement is at its peak. Everyday some new kind of technology is found and implemented into our society. Genetically modified organism or GMOs constitute one such technology that is in the process of being accepted into our lives. To understand what GMOs are, we need an idea of what a gene is. My skin color, your ability to digest dairy products, whether a plant can grow in salt water or not: these are all specific characteristics that can be inherited. Such characteristics are determined by genes which are present in the cells of all living organisms. Scientists can now identify genes in the cells of organisms and modify them. This lets us determine what characteristics we want certain organisms such as crops to have and these products of genetic manipulation are called genetically modified organisms. 

A useful application of genetic modification has been the creation of pest-resistant plants. Farmers use pesticides (chemicals that kill insects) to protect their crops from harm. Pesticides are known to be poisonous which harm the environment and any living thing that consumes food that it had been used on, including humans. Scientists can use genetic modification to create plants that produce certain biopesticides. Biopesticides are naturally occurring materials inside certain organisms which act as pesticides. For example, a bacteria named Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) produces a protein which acts as a pesticide to certain insects. Scientists have incorporated the gene that produces this protein into plants such as corn and cotton, thereby enabling the plants to produce the protein on their own. Farmers can now grow these genetically modified plants without worrying about using artificial pesticides. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has tested the safety of these GMOs, and determined that when these crops are consumed, the added protein acts as a normal dietary protein and is digested, posing no health problems to the consumers. Genetic modification can also be used to produce plants that are resistant to environmental stressors such as drought and high salinity, and these varieties – many of them still under development – are likely to be increasingly useful as many regions begin to experience less rainfall and rising salinity as a result of climate change.

In 2003 the total amount of GMO crops farmed worldwide was 168 million acres. In 2015 that number rose to 444 million acres. United States alone had 176 million acres of genetically modified crops growing in 2015. Even though we get so much out of GMO crops, it garners a lot of backlash from the general population. The idea of GMOs and the road leading to its state right now might be old, but the exposure of its products to the general population is relatively new and unknown. Most people who are against GMOs believe that they are harmful to ingest, and that they harm the environment. Such ideas mainly stem from a lack of knowledge about science and a certain amount of distrust toward scientists. An in-depth analysis of 1,783 scientific articles about the safety of GM crops published between 2002 and 2012 has been carried out and the results show no harmful effects of any kind occurring due to GM crops. There is a rigorous process that checks every GMO before making them available to the general population. U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) tests the GMOs to see if they are safe to farm, the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tests food obtained from GMOs to see if they are safe to consume, and the EPA tests to see if the pest-resistant GMO crops harm the environment or not. 

Selecting for beneficial traits is nothing new as we have been manipulating animals' and crops' genes for centuries. We domesticated dogs, cows, sheep and other animals. We choose crops that have the highest yield and grow them in large amounts, thus selecting for certain characteristics. A good example of this is the crop maize whose ancestor is actually a grass plant known as teosinte. At the end of the day, GMOs are beneficial. The only thing we can do is to teach people more about the science behind GMOs, and that it does us no harm.

Ridwan is a freshman at IUB whose dream is to be a renowned mad scientist. He will be a Nobel laureate.