Biotechnology

Biotechnology is the use of biological substances, such as enzymes, or microorganisms, to perform industrial processes.

In terms of health, biotechnology has widespread applications. It can produce biologics, such as vaccines, or therapeutics, such as synthetic hormones. It is also used in the drug development process. Thus, biotechnology companies can either sell defined products, such as therapeutic antibodies, or they can sell technology, supplies, and services, such as protein screening services to identify therapeutic targets for drug development.

The medical biotechnology sector has about 120 companies located in South East England – 27% of the total in the UK.