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Commercialization of monoclonal antibodies may be the biotechnology success story of the 1980s. While most products of genetic engineering are still characterized as having potential or hypothetical commercial applications, there are at least 30 monoclonal antibody-based products on the market now. Hybritech, a California biotechnology firm, leads the field in production and marketing of new applications for monoclonal antibodies.
The new Congress is taking a long, hard look at biotechnology. A number of proposals will be debated in committee rooms and on the floors of the House and Senate this year, proposals which could have important effects upon the negotiation, funding, and commercialization of biotechnology research.
While many of the leaders in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries rushed to invest in biotechnology over the past decade, W. R. Grace seemed to sit idle. But now that the multinationals have completed their first round of investments at top dollar and biotechnology novices have begun feeling the pain of long-term research financing, the sleeping giant seems to have awakened.