biotech

noun bio·tech \ ˈbī-ō-ˌtek \

Updated on: 19 May 2018

Definition of biotech

plural biotechs

1 : biotechnology 1

2 : a company that utilizes biotechnology (as in the development of drugs or diagnostics for medicine)

At present, there is no common technology platform for obtaining or sharing genomics information, so biotechs are scrambling to develop their own systems for sifting through the data.
—Arlene Weintraub

See biotech defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of biotech from the Web

The Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership has partnered with Entasis Therapeutics, a US biotech company, to accelerate the development of a new antibiotic that will be produced specifically to target drug-resistant gonorrhea.

— sophie cousins, CNN, "Wherever you are in the world, time is running out for treating gonorrhea," 15 May 2018
Some rents have risen, some older family businesses have closed, and just a few blocks off Cambridge Street in Kendall Square, sleek high-rises that house biotech companies have spurred high-end residential and retail growth.

— katheleen conti, BostonGlobe.com, "In the shadow of large-scale developments, East Cambridge small businesses brace for impact," 10 May 2018
Wednesday’s kick-off party for the 25th Annual Luau and Legends of Surfing Invitational fundraiser featured Dr. Ivor Royston and Howard Birndorf, who founded San Diego’s first biotech company, Hybritech, 40 years ago.

— bradley j. fikes, sandiegouniontribune.com, "HybriToast for Hybritech, biotech funding, and neuronal cookbook," 10 May 2018
The surprising failure last month of a large clinical trial of a promising cancer immunotherapy drug from the biotech company Incyte has quickly reverberated across the pharmaceutical industry.

— ken garber, Science | AAAS, "A promising new cancer drug has hit a major setback, raising questions about whether the field is moving too fast," 9 May 2018
And the lion’s share of the related funding is investment money raised by loosely affiliated biotech companies.

— elie dolgin, Scientific American, "Scientists Downsize Bold Plan to Make Human Genome from Scratch," 1 May 2018
Remington now manages a team of software engineers for Ambry Genetics, a biotech company in Aliso Viejo that targets heredity diseases like the one that's killing him.

— lori basheda, latimes.com, "Couple invites public to crash their wedding to raise funds for charities," 26 Apr. 2018
To get around the sustainability issue overall, the report suggests that biotech companies focus on diseases or conditions that seem to be becoming more common and/or are already high-incidence.

— beth mole, Ars Technica, "“Is curing patients a sustainable business model?” Goldman Sachs analysts ask," 12 Apr. 2018
For its public offering, Spotify has taken an unconventional and somewhat risky approach called direct listing, a route normally taken by small-cap companies, usually in biotech and life sciences.

— dani deahl, The Verge, "Spotify stock begins trading at $132 a share, placing company valuation at $23.5 billion," 3 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'biotech.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.