Industrial biotechnology – Markets and industry structure

Abstract

An increasing number of chemicals and materials, like base chemicals and polymers, as well as high value products, such as consumer chemicals and specialty chemicals, are produced using biotechnology in one or more of the process steps. In 2010, the sale volume of biotechnology products was around 92 billion Euro worldwide. Sales are estimated to increase to around 228 billion Euro in 2015 and to around 515 billion Euro in 2020. On a sector level, the largest market potential lies in the production of biopolymers and active pharmaceutical ingredients. As a rule, commercial development is mainly driven by multinational enterprises, whereas small and medium enterprises contribute primarily to the technological development. Especially the latter group faces several challenges during their development. These mainly concern business models and growth strategies as well as financing strategies and resources. Investors have not yet fully identified the area of industrial biotechnology as an attractive investment field but they could become a major capital source as they start to understand more the potential of industrial biotechnology.