Biomedical Research in India:Paradigm Shift to Translation

Biotechnology, a word coined in 1919 by the Hungarian Engineer Karl Ereky, was used to denote products derived from raw materials with the aid of living organisms. It evolved from brewing and fermentation industries to address requirements in almost all facets of day-to-day life: health and disease, food and agriculture, environment and industry. The elucidation of the DNA structure in 1953 and the advent of genetic engineering tools in the 1970s have provided an unlimited scope for the application of this technology. Growth in the biopharmaceutical sector would give a rough measure of the rate of growth of biotechnology globally.