2006年VOA标准英语-Biotech Companies Surpass Big Pharmaceutic

By Jane M Friedman
Washington, DC
20 April 2006
 
watch Biotech Industry report

A report by the consulting firm Ernst and Young says that, although huge pharmaceutical¹ firms like Merck and Pfizer pour billions into research, small biotechnology companies are responsible for most of the new drugs approved in the U.S. last year.

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Pharmaceutical giants, like Merck and Pfizer, profiting from hundreds of medications and over-the-counter treatments, spend more than $60 billion a year on research and commercials.  But smaller biotech firms outstripped² the giants in 2005 with 18 new drugs approved for market, out of a total 29.    

 

James Greenwood  
  

James Greenwood is president of the Biotechnology Industry Organization. "The little biotech companies are entrepreneurial. They're risk takers, they will go looking for a brand new molecule³ to cure a disease that's not been tackled before.  Big pharmaceutical companies have such huge sales forces, such huge infrastructure⁴, that they have to limit their risk taking. They're always looking for a tweak to an existing drug that enables them to get some great volume of sales."

But spokesmen for the pharmaceuticals⁵ say they are taking big risks to research new treatments for widespread and even rare diseases.  

  
  
Biotech companies, more than 1,000 of them, are using new discoveries in DNA⁶, genetics and cell biology to better understand how the body works in order to combat and prevent disease.    

Last year, one biotech firm developed Insulin that's inhaled⁷, not injected. It hits the market soon.

MedImmune, which developed a flu vaccine⁸ in a nasal spray, is working on a spray to protect against the deadly strain of avian flu, which officials say could become a pandemic.

EntreMed, outside Washington D.C., is developing a new drug that relies on an understanding of how blood vessels⁹ help tumors grow and how cutting the blood supply to tumors can kill them.  

But though biotechs are doing groundbreaking work, their finances are precarious¹⁰.  Many are funded, at first, by venture capitalists.  Drug development can take up to 10 years.  And the industry has lost billions of dollars since the first biotech was founded 30 years ago.

Some of the publicly traded firms have seen their stock prices collapse¹¹ when clinical trials have failed.

"The biggest challenge for biotech companies these days is the early stage financing," says Greenwood.

One way to get that financing is in partnerships¹² with the pharmaceuticals.  Biotech companies say if they can stay afloat, they will bring unique ways to improve health worldwide.

1 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

2 outstripped   

v.做得比…更好，（在赛跑等中）超过( outstrip的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• That manufacturer outstripped all his competitors in sales last year. 那个制造商家去年的销售量超过了所有竞争对手。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The imagination of her mother and herself had outstripped the truth. 母亲和她自己的想象力远远超过了事实。 来自辞典例句

3 molecule   

n.分子，克分子

参考例句：

• A molecule of water is made up of two atoms of hygrogen and one atom of oxygen.一个水分子是由P妈̬f婘̬ 妈̬成的。
• This gives us the structural formula of the molecule.这种方式给出了分子的结构式。

4 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

5 pharmaceuticals   

n.医药品；药物( pharmaceutical的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the development of new pharmaceuticals 新药的开发
• The companies are pouring trillions of yen into biotechnology research,especially for pharmaceuticals and new seeds. 这些公司将大量资金投入生物工艺学研究，尤其是药品和新种子方面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

7 inhaled   

v.吸入( inhale的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. 她合上双眼，深深吸了一口气。
• Janet inhaled sharply when she saw him. 珍妮特看到他时猛地吸了口气。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

9 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 precarious   

adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的

参考例句：

• Our financial situation had become precarious.我们的财务状况已变得不稳定了。
• He earned a precarious living as an artist.作为一个艺术家，他过得是朝不保夕的生活。

11 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

12 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句