Biotechnology Market

Market Overview

The global biotechnology market size was valued at USD 635 billion in 2021 and is estimated to reach an expected value of USD 2200 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 14.8% over the forecast period (2022-2030)

Biotechnology is a branch of science that develops or creates products by utilizing biological systems, living creatures, or elements. Biotechnology encompasses various fields, such as biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology. New technologies and products are developed in medicine, agriculture, and industrial biotechnology every year. With its vast growth potential in life sciences, agriculture, and information technology, the biotechnology sector is expected to play a vital role as a novel manufacturing hub. The growth in the biotechnology industry can be attributed to several factors, such as the launch of new & innovative products, agreements, acquisitions, technological advancements, and increasing adoption of various applications.

Market Dynamics

Global Biotechnology Market Drivers

• Presence of Favorable Government Initiatives

Governments of various countries have undertaken multiple initiatives to improve the biotechnology sector and offer enough scope for research in this field. The presence of organizations, such as The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the National Biotechnology Board (NBTB), promotes funding to support R&D and product development. The growing need to understand chronic diseases at a molecular level and develop therapeutic solutions is expected to encourage these organizations to fund R&D programs. An increase in government funding for life sciences research will drive the market in the following years.

Governments adopt similar initiatives in developing economies such as India & China to attract foreign investors. Combined efforts of government & market players to raise finance for the R&D of regenerative medicine are anticipated to fuel market growth. For instance, stem cells and regenerative medicine were listed among the top five fields of biotechnology by the National Plan for Long- and Medium-Term Scientific and Technological Development, China. The central government of China has extended financial support to accelerate progress in these fields.

• Rising Demand for Agro-Based Products

It is anticipated that the demand for agricultural and food items, including wheat, rice, sugarcane, and beans, will rise due to the expanding populations in nations like the United States, China, and India. Numerous factors, like the scarcity of agricultural land, water restrictions, low crop yields, and pest infestations, motivate scientists to conduct in-depth R&D to create novel agrarian technology. During the projection period, the market expansion is anticipated to be driven by biotechnological methods in agricultural products, such as genetic engineering and genetic modification (GM). Moreover, this has led to a significant rise in the growth of the biotech seeds market. Due to higher yield coupled with resistance to pests and diseases, GM seeds have higher economic value than conventional seeds. With these added benefits, a large number of farmers across the world have realized the importance of these crops. This has led to an exponential increase in the area under cultivation for biotech crops.

Global Biotechnology Market Restraint

• Risks Associated with GM Organisms and Crops

Scientists do not entirely understand the majority of biosystems as of yet. This makes it difficult to predict the nature of an artificial organism or microorganism born out of a biotechnology-based experiment. An out-of-control organism can spread pandemic diseases like the Spanish flu in 1918. This technology attracts criticism and is expected to restrain the market growth.

Farmers are adopting GM crops for several reasons, such as increasing pesticide and herbicide resistance and resistance against certain viruses or toxins. These modifications are mainly aimed at increasing farming profitability. Despite the high success of GM crops, these are known to have specific potential side effects on organisms and the environment. These effects are expected to hamper the use of GM products, thereby impeding market growth.

Global Biotechnology Market Opportunities

• Growing Demand for Synthetic Biology

Supportive government (and allied agencies) policies related to synthetic biology are a primary growth impacting driver of the biotechnology market opportunities. Developed economies like the UK and the U.S. are critically monitoring and funding synthetic biology R&D initiatives. Government agencies such as the SynBERC (Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Centre) and National Science Foundation (NSF) are instrumental in periodic synthetic biology evaluation. Similarly, Europe's NEST (new and emerging science and technology) program provided funding for 18 synthetic biology projects. Other funding agencies, such as UK's BBSRC (Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council), EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council), and ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council), ensure the smooth functioning of synthetic biology research projects.

Synthetic biology is a comparatively new and unexplored technology. Industry participants in this field strive continuously toward developing proprietary and new technologies to enhance market presence. Nonprofit organizations such as BioBricks ensure the availability of synthetic biology technologies for humanitarian purposes. Synthetic biology forums such as OpenWetWare act as an information-sharing platform and help deliver conceptual training to researchers. The establishment of organizations and forums helps encourage researchers to opt for and study synthetic biology concepts and develop innovative technologies, which is also a notable growth driver for this market. Synthetic biology will significantly help researchers develop new and improved vaccines and drugs. Growing demand for improved drugs and vaccines is further expected to accentuate market growth in the near future.

Regional Analysis

By region, the global biotechnology market is bifurcated into Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East & Africa

North America dominated the market during the forecast period. Due to several variables, including significant competitors, vigorous R&D activities, and high healthcare spending, the regional market is expanding. Platforms based on genomics, proteomics, and cell biology are widely used in the area, which hastens the uptake of life sciences technologies. Additionally, it is anticipated that the rising frequency of chronic diseases and the increasing use of personalized medicine apps for treating severe illnesses will benefit market growth in the area.

The Asia Pacific is the fastest-growing region. The development plans of significant market participants, favorable government initiatives, and increased investments in healthcare infrastructure can all be linked to the regional market's growth. For instance, Moderna Inc. announced in February 2022 that it intended to expand its business network geographically in Asia by establishing four new subsidiaries in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The market is also anticipated to rise due to biopharmaceutical partnerships, such as the strategic partnership between Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals and Huadong Medicine for developing and commercializing Kiniksa's ARCALYST and mavrilimumab in the Asia-Pacific region. 

Segmental Analysis

The global biotechnology market is segmented by application, technology, and region. 

By Application

The global market is segmented into health, food & agriculture, industrial processing, natural resources & environment, bioinformatics, and other applications. The health segment dominated the market and is estimated to register a CAGR of 13.9% during the forecast period. Health biotechnology is crucial and has emerged as the highest revenue-generating segment in 2020. The developments in the biotechnology space have resulted in the emergence of a new economic sector primarily associated with small startup companies. Moreover, companies are collaborating for the development of novel therapeutic products, which is aiding segment growth. For instance, in April 2020, Amgen and Adaptive Biotechnologies collaborated to discover and develop antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Adaptive's proprietary immune medicine platform is being used as part of this collaboration to identify virus-neutralizing antibodies. Such partnerships would boost revenue generation in this segment.

The food and agriculture segment is the second largest. The demand for biotechnology tools across agricultural applications has expanded rapidly. These include micropropagation and tissue culture, molecular breeding or marker-assisted selection genetic engineering, and genetically modified crops & molecular diagnostic technologies, and conventional plant breeding. The advent of unique genetic resources and genome modification tools is expected to enhance the understanding of plant biology over the coming years. Furthermore, an increase in the adoption of GM crops globally is expected to supplement the segment growth in the coming years. Genetically modified crops have witnessed rapid adoption, and herbicide-tolerant insect-resistant GM seeds have gained immense popularity contributing to the development of the agricultural industry.

By Technology

The global market is segmented into DNA sequencing, tissue engineering and regeneration, nanobiotechnology, fermentation (biopharmaceutical manufacturing, biopharmaceutical & biotechnology research, and others), cell-based assay, PCR technology, chromatography, and others. Tissue engineering and regeneration dominated the market and is estimated to register a CAGR of 13.7% during the forecast period. The rising penetration and presence of several companies with active pipeline portfolios are expected to boost potential growth. Tissue engineering and regeneration technology are highly driven by a robust pipeline in clinical trials and the company of government & private funding to support research. In addition, the presence of highly efficient products such as grafts, tissue patches, ointments, and scaffolds has resulted in the developing of regenerative medicines for use in dermatology and musculoskeletal treatments. Advancements in nanotechnology that have further improved these products' efficiency are expected to contribute to revenue generation significantly. The market is expected to grow as demand for clinical treatments for chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, age-related macular degeneration, and practically all types of arthritis rises. Significant companies are researching and developing pipeline drugs for diabetes and neurological disorders, including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, as well as for many forms of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. The rising prevalence of these diseases has increased investments in the search for treatment opportunities in Regenerative medicines.

The nanobiotechnology segment is the second largest. The rising inclination of physicians to use nanomaterial-based products contributes to the larger revenue biotechnology market share. Nanotechnology-enabled medical technologies significantly impact the detection, prevention, and treatment of human diseases. The number of approved nanomedicine products has been increasing significantly since 1980. As of 2019, 29 nanomedicine products have received regulatory approval. Thus, growing regulatory approvals are expected to impact market growth positively. Furthermore, nanotechnology has emerged as an exciting and promising drug discovery and delivery approach. In the last few years, researchers have started using nanobiotechnology in this space. Nanocrystals (QDs) and nanoparticles such as magnetic nanoparticles, gold colloids, nanobarcodes, dendrimers, and nanobodies offer unique advantages for developing drugs and their discovery. Moreover, this technology has emerged as a promising nanoplatform for efficient therapeutics and diagnostics possessing characteristic properties. The confluence of the abovementioned factors is anticipated to increase the update of nanobiotechnology, leading to considerable market growth.

Recent Developments

• October 2022 - The company announced today that two more cell and gene treatments produced at Lonza's Houston (US) facility had received commercial approval in Q3 2022. Lonza is a leading global manufacturing partner in the biotech, pharmaceutical, and nutrition industries. SKYSONA®, for treating initial, active cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy, and ZYNTEGLO®, for treating transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia, are both made by bluebird bio of Somerville, Massachusetts, and received approval in August and September, respectively. These regulatory approvals mark the second and third commercial approvals for cell and gene therapy that Lonza's Houston (US) facility has supported.
• September 2022- Lonza, a leading global provider of development and manufacturing services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and food and beverage sectors, has completed the expansion of its Highly Potent API (HPAPI) Multipurpose Suite in Visp (CH). The extension increases ADC payload development and manufacture capacity, enabling the whole research and manufacturing pipeline from feasibility studies to commercial supply.
• October 2022- Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) will share data across its expansive infectious disease portfolio, including company-sponsored and collaborative research studies, spanning licensed and investigational vaccines and antibiotic and antiviral therapies at IDWeek 2022 held in Washington, D.C. October 19-23, 2022. 
• October 2022- Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech SE (Nasdaq: BNTX) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for a 10-µg booster dose of their Omicron BA.4/BA.5-adapted bivalent COVID-19 vaccine in children 5 through 11 years of age. Pending recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 10-µg doses will be shipped immediately.
• October 2022- Pfizer, Inc. (NYSE: PFE) has exercised its option to license a novel capsid developed by Voyager's TRACERTM capsid discovery platform to support a potential gene therapy program against an undisclosed target rare neurologic disease, according to a statement from Voyager Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: VYGR), a gene therapy and neuroscience company.