From BCG, January 22:
Evidence of a synthetic biology revolution is mounting. Scores of startups have been introducing sustainable, bio-engineered fragrances, skin creams, polyurethane foam for alpine skis, biodegradable fast-food containers, and effective alternatives to nitrogen fertilizers. Corporate giants such as Unilever, Zara, and Adidas are unveiling collaborations with biotech firms to create petrochemical-free plastics, laundry soaps, sport-shoe materials, and strong, stretchable fabrics that, in the future, may even repair themselves.
Two major constraints, however, are preventing synthetic biology—syn-bio, for short—from going mainstream: cost and the limited availability of biomanufacturing capacity. Right now, most startups are working with contract biomanufacturing organizations that generate small quantities of new substances, making their output very expensive. What we really need are industrial-scale fermentation sites that cost-efficiently produce many kilotons of products. Those may require capital expenditures of $300 million to $400 million—far less than an oil refinery, but still a heavy investment.
It’s a bit of a Catch-22. Until there’s more capacity, it’s hard to bring down unit costs. And until the economics are there, few companies and investors want to build huge fermentation facilities. As a result, most venture capital still flows into biotech companies that are designing molecules used to make niche products for customers willing to pay premium prices.
Syn-bio’s inflection point is nearing, however. The industry is being pushed by rapid technological advances that are enabling companies to create molecules of interest much faster, and in far greater variety. And it’s being pulled by growing demand for sustainable products across a range of industries. As a result, we’re starting to see a new generation of industrial-scale biomanufacturing facilities.
Syn-Bio’s Next Big Wave Is Hitting Now
Syn-bio is based on our understanding of the underlying design principles of every type of organism in nature, from microbes and plants to the human body. It originated in the pharmaceutical industry in the 1970s and 80s with the production of recombinant insulin enabled by genetic engineering, which continues to help us create therapies to cure people of diseases in ways that chemicals cannot. Decades later, syn-bio was deployed to make biofuels, although they have yet to reach true cost-parity with fossil fuels.The latest—and most successful—wave of syn-bio is hitting now. New tools such as CRISPR-Cas9 allow us not only to change existing biological material but also to manipulate and redesign almost any organism. Within weeks, you can create and test millions of permutations of an organism to identify genetic aberrations that can lead to molecules of interest. And testing equipment is improving. These advances are dramatically shrinking development times and the cost of bringing syn-bio out of labs and closer to industrialization. Through a process called precision fermentation, it’s becoming theoretically possible to replicate any petrochemical-based product we use daily, including plastics, paint, and emollients for cleaning and skin care products....
....MUCH MORE
Previously from BCG:Boston Consulting Group Chair On Technology and Decarboniszation
Two snippets, one where he's right, one where he's wrong.
From the Wall Street Journal, January 3, 2024....
And:
"An Investor’s Guide to Deep Tech"
We'll have more on deep tech next week, for now this is a decent intro/primer.
From Boston Consulting Group, November 21...
