Biotechnology Research Roadmap - Science and Innovation

2 International context
Section summary
The global biotechnology sector is maturing and total revenue is on a steady upward growth path.
The United States is the dominant player in the global sector, but the Asia-Pacific region is growing rapidly.
Governments are investing vast amounts of R&D funding into biotechnology research and infrastructure
development.
The primary focus of global efforts is the health biotechnology sector.
Industrial biotechnology is being touted as the “next big thing” and investment is currently being driven by
concerns around energy security and mitigating climate change impact.
Research funding trends show a shift towards funding interdisciplinary research teams and research at the
convergence of disciplines to drive discovery and innovation.
Societal reactions and concerns remain an important barometer of the acceptability of emerging
biotechnologies.
2.1 The global biotechnology sector
Biotechnology became a distinct sector in the United
States (US) in the mid 1970s and has since developed
into a truly global industry. The US still has by far the
largest share of global revenues from biotechnology.
This is followed, at some distance by Europe, whose
share of global revenues is diminishing, due in part to
the rapid growth of the biotech sector in the Asia Pacific
region (Figure 1).
Figure 1
Global biotechnology revenues 2001-2004
Adapted from Ernst and Young – Global Biotechnology Report – 2003, 2004 & 2005
US $ Billion
60
50
40
30
20
10
Global Biotechnology Revenues
KEY
2001 2002 2003 2004
United States Europe Canada Asia Pacific
8 Roadmaps for Science : biotechnology research