The Health Care Cost Crisis and the Growth Potential of the Biotechnology Industry
ETLA, FES 2/2004, p. 103-108
Raine Hermans ja Martti Kulvik
In this article we will investigate how the Finnish biotechnology industry could offer solutions to the cost crisis in health care while at the same time spurring development of an internationally competitive industrial cluster.
The health care sector has reached a major crossroads. On the one hand, the aging of the population and the medical possibilities to diagnose and treat more illnesses than before are placing pressures on health care costs. On the other hand, biotechnology applications are expected to spawn cost savings over the long run by, for example, making time-consuming diagnostic methods more efficient and facilitating targeted therapy.