经济学人336:生物科技 持续升温

　　Business
商业报道
Biotechnology
生物科技
Fever rising
持续升温
There are reasons to hope that the latest biotech boom will not be followed by another bust¹
我们有理由相信此次生物技术的繁荣不会伴随一次衰退
AS INVESTORS³ and executives crammed⁴ into a New York ballroom⁵ for a conference held this week by the Biotechnology Industry Organisation⁶, the mood was jittery⁷.
本周，生物科技产业组织举行了一场投资者大会，当业界投资人和高管鱼贯进入舞厅充当的会场时，气氛颇为紧张。
The previous week eight biotech firms had launched initial public offerings in America, together raising more than 500m.
就在上周，有八家生物技术公司在美国上市，募集的资金总和超过一亿美元。
2_副本.jpgIn a discussion panel on whether the industry's latest boom will last, a prominent investor², Oleg Nodelman, joked that he still had suitcases of cash for any firm that wanted it.
在一个关于此次生物科技产业的热潮是否会延续的小组讨论中，知名投资人奥列格?诺德曼开玩笑说：如果还有哪家公司需要资金，我这还有几皮箱现钞可以供应。
Biotechnology is the creation of drugs and other useful products by making use of nature's toolkit—that is, by adapting or exploiting processes found in living organisms.
生物技术是一种使用自然的工具箱，即通过来改造或利用生物体内的过程来创造药物及其他有用产品的技术；
For example, Argos Therapeutics, one of the latest batch⁸ of firms to raise money, is working on ways to trigger patients' own immune systems to fight kidney cancer or HIV infection.
比如说，最近上市的众多生物技术公司中的Argos Therapeutics，现在正在研究的通过激活患者自身的免疫系统来治疗肾癌和艾滋病的疗法。
The industry has undergone cycles of boom and bust since its inception⁹ in the 1970s, pioneered by firms such as Genentech.
由基因泰克等公司开创于上世纪70年代的生物技术产业自从其建立以来就不断经历繁荣与衰退的循环。
As the chart shows, last year more biotech firms joined American stock markets, raising more money, than at any time since the golden year of 2000.
如上图所示，自2000年以来，去年是美国生物技术公司上市最多、募集资金总额最多的一年。在
In the past 12 months, even as the S&P 500 share index has risen by 20%, shares in biotech firms have surged by almost three times as much.
过去的12个月中，尽管标准普尔500股票指数已经上涨了20%，生物技术公司的股价飙升幅度还是有其三倍之多。
One of the main causes for the millennial¹¹ boom was that investors, flush with money they had made from internet firms, became excited about the Human Genome Project.
千禧年生物技术股市繁荣的一个重要原因是，在互联网行业赚得盆满钵满的投资者们对人类基因组计划感到兴奋不已。
They hoped that this massive, government-backed effort to lay out the entire genetic¹² code of Homo sapiens would lead to a proliferation of profitable new treatments.
他们希望这项由政府支持的，旨在铺陈出现代人类整个遗传密码的宏伟工程能够催生出海量有利可图的新疗法。
Biotech's flowering is taking some time, however. Biology is complex.
但是，生物学是很复杂的，药物搞不好不是毒性太大就是疗效不佳。
Drugs have a habit of being too toxic¹³ or not working as well as they should.
生物技术的开花结果往往需要很长时间。
Indeed, creating new drugs through biotechnology is at the risky¹⁴ end of a business in which superhuman stamina¹⁵ and bottomless pockets are minimum requirements.
事实上，通过生物技术制造新药物是风险最大的行业，超人的耐力和充裕的资金只是最低要求。
The Boston Consulting Group reckons that 90% of the money spent researching new treatments, conventional or biotech, goes on drugs that ultimately fail.
据波士顿咨询公司估计，用于研制新药的资金，有90%都打了水漂。把之前的试错的损失算在内，
After spending as much as 2 billion, accounting¹⁶ for all the failures, a company just might have a medicine that works.
一个公司在花了20亿美元后，则有可能获得一种有效的药物。
But then it must win the favour of the world's most stringent¹⁷ regulators, and convince governments, insurers and patients that the drug is worth paying for.
然后你还必须通过世界上最严格的监管程序，最后还要费尽心思向政府、保险公司和患者推销你的药物。
Overcome these obstacles, however, and the returns can be fabulous¹⁸.
然而，在克服层层磨难后，得到的回报会高得难以置信。
Stelios Papadopolous, a veteran biotech investor, argues that much of the recent rise in share prices is due not to froth, but because the industry is beginning to deliver promising¹⁹ treatments.
以为生物科技界的资深投资人斯特里奥斯帕帕多普洛斯认为最近该行业股价的上升大多不是泡沫引起的，而是因为有一批有前途的新疗法开始涌现。
In December America's Food and Drug Administration approved Sovaldi, a treatment for hepatitis C.
去年12月，美国食品和药物管理局批准了治疗丙型肝炎的药物Sovaldi，
It could now earn revenues of more than 3 billion this year for its maker²⁰, Gilead, a biotech firm from California.
这项药物今年可为其制造者，加里福利亚州的吉利德公司创造30亿美元的营收。
Biogen Idec, a firm based in Massachusetts, is expected to earn more than 1 billion a year from Tecfidera, a pill for multiple sclerosis that the FDA approved last year. The firm's shares rose by almost 90% in 2013.
百健艾迪一家是总部位于马萨诸塞州的制药公司，有望凭借其去年通过FDA审查的治疗多发性硬化症的小药丸每年盈利10亿美元。
But the question is whether such triumphs are aberrations²¹ or hints of other victories yet to come.
去年，百健艾迪在的股价上涨了接近90%。但问题是，这些公司的成功究竟底是个例，还是生物技术领域整体繁荣的前兆。
There are several reasons to hope that even if the current share-price and IPO frenzy²² subsides²³, biotech firms will continue to prosper²⁴.
有几点理由能让我们认为即使现在生物技术行业的股价开始下降，IPO狂潮开始平息，生物技术公司依然会继续勇往直前。
First, many smaller firms have become the research engines for bigger ones, explains Kevin Starr of Third Rock, a venture-capital firm.
首先，三石风险投资公司的凯文?斯塔尔解释称，如今很多小型公司已经变身为大公司的研发引擎。
For example Sanofi, a French pharmaceutical²⁵ giant, now depends on Regeneron, an American biotech company, to help drive its growth.
比如说现在的法国制药业巨头赛诺菲，现在依靠美国的生物技术公司Regeneron来推动自身的发展。
This year alone, Sanofi will pump about 1 billion into Regeneron's research programme.
单单今年，赛诺菲就向Regeneron的研发计划注入了10亿美金。
The goal is not to Sanofise Regeneron or any other partner, says Christopher Viehbacher, Sanofi's chief executive.
我们的目的并不是将Regeneron或我们其他的合作伙伴赛诺菲化。
Rather, it is to combine Regeneron's capabilities²⁶ in researching new treatments with Sanofi's skill in bringing them to market.
赛诺菲得的首席执行官解释说，而是将Regeneron的研发能力和赛诺菲将信品导入市场的能力结合起来。
Celgene, one of America's larger biotech firms, has a similar distributed model of research. It helps finance the scientific work at smaller companies, then usually takes over a drug's development as it moves into clinical trials.
塞尔基因公司，美国的一家大型生物技术公司在研发环节同样使用这种分包模式。
Besides being costly²⁷, these require expertise²⁸ that younger, smaller firms often lack.
它先是资助小公司的研发工作，然后在药物开发进入到临床试验阶段是接手，因为此阶段的开发不仅费用高，而且要求小公司缺乏的专门技能。
Second—and more important—firms are at last starting to reap the rewards of studying the human genome.
第二点，也是更重要的一点，生物技术公司终于开始在人类基因组的研究上有所斩获。
As researchers illuminate²⁹ the underlying³⁰ genetic causes of a disease, they open up new routes to developing treatments.
一旦研究人员弄清导致一项疾病隐蔽的遗传学原因，就同时为此疾病的治疗提供了一种新途径。
For example, Vertex has a drug to treat a subset of patients with cystic fibrosis, thanks to a better understanding of the faulty gene¹⁰ that causes it.
比如说福泰制药公司有一种可以治疗患有囊胞性纤维病的特定人群的药物，就是得益于对导致这一疾病的缺陷基因更好的理解。
Bluebird bio, one of Celgene's small partner firms, which Third Rock also financed, is working on a treatment for sickle-cell disease that inserts into the patient's blood cells a properly functioning version of the faulty gene that causes the inherited ailment³¹.
又比如塞尔基因的一个合作公司蓝鸟生物，同样也是三石风投投资的公司，现在正致力于一种治疗镰状细胞病的疗法：把造成此种遗传疾病的缺陷基因的校正后再插入患者的干细胞内。
Advances in genomics are making clinical trials smaller and cheaper, since it is now easier to identify which patients have the specific genetic trait that a new drug is aimed at.
基因组学的发展史的临床试验的规模更小和成本更低，因为现在若要确甄别出具有试验药物针对的那种特定遗传学特征的患者变得更加容易了。
This makes it more worthwhile to research diseases that are rare, and those that have so far proved intractable.
这样就使得那些对经被罕见的和一直被认为难以治愈的疾病的研究变得更有价值了。
The FDA gives special consideration to drugs that treat such ailments³², so companies can expect a speedier path to approval.
FDA对治疗这类疾病的药物会给予特殊的考虑，所以制药公司会有望快速拿到批准。
Learning from mistakes
吸取经验教训
The venture capitalists who back biotech firms are trying to avoid the mistakes they made in the past.
投资生物技术的风投家们也正努力避免以前犯过的错误。
Index Ventures, based in Geneva, does not shower companies with cash to build lavish³³ headquarters.
总部位于日内瓦的指数创投没有挥金如土去盖奢华的总部大楼，
Instead it assembles a tiny team of scientists and executives to oversee³⁴ the research on a promising new line of treatment, outsourcing the bulk of the work to external contractors³⁵.
而是召集一个有科学家和高管组成的小组来监控有前景的新疗法的研发，并把大部分的工作外包出去。
This makes the costs more predictable. It also makes it easier for Index to halt a project when it looks like failing.
这样不仅使得成本更具可预见性，也能方便指数创投叫停可能失败的项目。
Despite all these reasons for optimism, there is no guarantee that the current boom will last.
尽管有这么多令人乐观的理由，我们不能肯定这次的繁荣会一直持续。
In these sunny times, it is tempting³⁶ to forget the dark days that companies have endured.
快乐的日子总是会诱使人忘却曾让你备受煎熬的黑暗往事。
Twenty-five years later, quips Leonard Schleifer of Regeneron, I'm an overnight success.
我等了25年，Regenron的CEO莱纳德?施莱弗尔自嘲道，我终于一夜暴富了。
It is also uncertain that insurers and governments will continue to pay biotech firms' high prices.
我们同样不能确定保险公司和政府是否会继续高价购买生物技术公司的产品。
Vertex's treatment for cystic fibrosis costs a staggering 294,000 for each course.
福泰制药的治疗囊胞性纤维症的药物疗程的费用就高达骇人的294，000美金。
The most important question is whether research has indeed become more productive.
最重要的问题是，我们不知道生物科技领域的研究工作是否真的变得极富成效。
More than 80% of those recently polled by Mark Schoenebaum, an analyst³⁷ at ISI Group, said yes.
国际战略投资集团的分析师Mark Schoenebaum在调查了80%的生物科技公司后，得出的答案是肯定的。
Mr Schoenebaum himself, however, is unconvinced. I'm not arguing definitively³⁸ that it hasn't happened, he muses³⁹, but I haven't been entirely⁴⁰ persuaded.
但他本人却对此结果存疑。我不是否认这一结果，Schoenebaum沉思道，我只是没有被完全说服。
There are no data yet, he says, to draw firm conclusions. And for all the advances in genomics, and the increased sophistication of biotech firms and their investors, there is still a lot of luck involved in R&D.
尽管基因组学取得长足进步，生物技术公司与其投资者的经验也在不断增长，但医药研发极富不确定性的情况不会改变。
1.make use of 使用，利用
Now we need to make use of them.
如今，我们需要对它们加以利用。
Researches make use of online surveys to complete their assignments.
研究人员利用网上调查来完成他们的任务。
2.stock market 股票市场；股票买卖
The stock market has spent 20 years going nowhere.
股票市场在二十年后又回到了原地。
Understanding the stock market starts with understanding stocks.
了解股市从对股票的了解开始。
3.cause for 原因
The likeliest cause for the taxi driver's reproductive problem?
出租车司机生殖健康问题最有可能的原因何在？
Any new shock will add cause for further retrenchment⁴¹.
任何一种新的震荡都将增加进一步缩减开支的理由。
4.lay out 设计；展示；安排
The rules of the race lay out certain regulations which each musher must abide⁴² by.
比赛规则制定了特定的管理办法，每位驾驶者都必须遵守。
Can you help me lay out the books on the shelf?
你可以帮我把这些书陈列在架子上吗？

1 bust   

vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部

参考例句：

• I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
• She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。

2 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

3 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

4 crammed   

adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式)

参考例句：

• He crammed eight people into his car. 他往他的车里硬塞进八个人。
• All the shelves were crammed with books. 所有的架子上都堆满了书。

5 ballroom   

n.舞厅

参考例句：

• The boss of the ballroom excused them the fee.舞厅老板给他们免费。
• I go ballroom dancing twice a week.我一个星期跳两次交际舞。

6 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

7 jittery   

adj. 神经过敏的, 战战兢兢的

参考例句：

• However, nothing happened though he continued to feel jittery. 可是，自从拉上这辆车，并没有出什么错儿，虽然他心中嘀嘀咕咕的不安。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• The thirty-six Enterprise divebombers were being squandered in a jittery shot from the hip. 这三十六架“企业号”上的俯冲轰炸机正被孤注一掷。

8 batch   

n.一批(组，群)；一批生产量

参考例句：

• The first batch of cakes was burnt.第一炉蛋糕烤焦了。
• I have a batch of letters to answer.我有一批信要回复。

9 inception   

n.开端，开始，取得学位

参考例句：

• The programme has been successful since its inception.这个方案自开始实施以来一直卓有成效。
• Julia's worked for that company from its inception.自从那家公司开办以来，朱莉娅一直在那儿工作。

10 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

11 millennial   

一千年的，千福年的

参考例句：

• Both Russia and America looked to the future to fulfill their millennial expectations. 俄国和美国都把实现他们黄金时代的希望寄托于未来。
• The millennial generation is celebrating the global commons every day, apparently unmindful of Hardin's warning. 千禧一代显然对哈丁的警告不以为然，每天都在颂扬全球“公地”。

12 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

13 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

14 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

15 stamina   

n.体力；精力；耐力

参考例句：

• I lacked the stamina to run the whole length of the race.我没有跑完全程的耐力。
• Giving up smoking had a magical effect on his stamina.戒烟神奇地增强了他的体力。

16 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

17 stringent   

adj.严厉的；令人信服的；银根紧的

参考例句：

• Financiers are calling for a relaxation of these stringent measures.金融家呼吁对这些严厉的措施予以放宽。
• Some of the conditions in the contract are too stringent.合同中有几项条件太苛刻。

18 fabulous   

adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的

参考例句：

• We had a fabulous time at the party.我们在晚会上玩得很痛快。
• This is a fabulous sum of money.这是一笔巨款。

19 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

20 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

21 aberrations   

n.偏差( aberration的名词复数 )；差错；脱离常规；心理失常

参考例句：

• These events were aberrations from the norm. 这些事件不合常规。 来自辞典例句
• These chromosome aberrations are all stable, compatible with cell viability. 这些染色体畸变都是稳定的，不影响细胞生活力的。 来自辞典例句

22 frenzy   

n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动

参考例句：

• He was able to work the young students up into a frenzy.他能激起青年学生的狂热。
• They were singing in a frenzy of joy.他们欣喜若狂地高声歌唱。

23 subsides   

v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的第三人称单数 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上

参考例句：

• Emotion swells and subsides. 情绪忽高忽低。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His emotion swells and subsides. 他的情绪忽高忽低。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

24 prosper   

v.成功，兴隆，昌盛；使成功，使昌隆，繁荣

参考例句：

• With her at the wheel,the company began to prosper.有了她当主管，公司开始兴旺起来。
• It is my earnest wish that this company will continue to prosper.我真诚希望这家公司会继续兴旺发达。

25 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。

26 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

27 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

28 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

29 illuminate   

vt.照亮，照明；用灯光装饰；说明，阐释

参考例句：

• Dreams kindle a flame to illuminate our dark roads.梦想点燃火炬照亮我们黑暗的道路。
• They use games and drawings to illuminate their subject.他们用游戏和图画来阐明他们的主题。

30 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

31 ailment   

n.疾病，小病

参考例句：

• I don't have even the slightest ailment.我什么毛病也没有。
• He got timely treatment for his ailment.他的病得到了及时治疗。

32 ailments   

疾病（尤指慢性病），不适( ailment的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His ailments include a mild heart attack and arthritis. 他患有轻度心脏病和关节炎。
• He hospitalizes patients for minor ailments. 他把只有小病的患者也送进医院。

33 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

34 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

35 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

36 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

37 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

38 definitively   

adv.决定性地，最后地

参考例句：

• None of the three super-states could be definitively conquered even by the other two in combination. 三个超级国家中的任何一国都不可能被任何两国的联盟所绝对打败。 来自英汉文学
• Therefore, nothing can ever be definitively proved with a photograph. 因此，没有什么可以明确了一张照片。 来自互联网

39 muses   

v.沉思，冥想( muse的第三人称单数 )；沉思自语说（某事）

参考例句：

• We have listened too long to the courtly muses of Europe. 欧洲那种御用的诗才，我们已经听够了。 来自辞典例句
• Shiki muses that this is, at least, probably the right atmosphere. 志贵觉得这至少是正确的气氛。 来自互联网

40 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

41 retrenchment   

n.节省，删除

参考例句：

• Retrenchment will be necessary. 有必要进行紧缩。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Defense planners predict an extended period of retrenchment. 国防规划人员预计开支紧缩期会延长。 来自辞典例句

42 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。