One of the fastest growing and most important pieces of the American economy is also often one of the most overlooked. Despite accounting for an estimated $324 billion in GDP in 2012 -- over 2% of the total economy -- growing at annual clips that exceed 10%, and accounting for over 5% of the total economy's growth from 2007 to 2012, the biotech sector doesn't get the policy attention it deserves.
While Uncle Sam has taken a hands-off approach to nurturing one of its prized economic drivers, the tiny Netherlands is doing things quite a bit differently. I recently had the chance to meet with representatives and entrepreneurs from Holland at the BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology in Montreal to learn more.
Turns out, the United States could learn a thing or two. The biotech sector, or bioeconomy, is defined as all revenue generated from genetically modified microbes, plants, and cell lines. Although the word "biotech" is often used interchangeably with "biopharma", that's an insult to the power of biology.
And in fact, biopharma is the smallest part of the biotech sector!
Read more: The Netherlands Is Taking Aim at One of America's Fastest-Growing Sectors | Business Markets and Stocks News | host.madison.com
While Uncle Sam has taken a hands-off approach to nurturing one of its prized economic drivers, the tiny Netherlands is doing things quite a bit differently. I recently had the chance to meet with representatives and entrepreneurs from Holland at the BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology in Montreal to learn more.
Turns out, the United States could learn a thing or two. The biotech sector, or bioeconomy, is defined as all revenue generated from genetically modified microbes, plants, and cell lines. Although the word "biotech" is often used interchangeably with "biopharma", that's an insult to the power of biology.
And in fact, biopharma is the smallest part of the biotech sector!
Read more: The Netherlands Is Taking Aim at One of America's Fastest-Growing Sectors | Business Markets and Stocks News | host.madison.com