Although 'red' and 'green' biotech are the predominant applications in the eyes of the public, 'white' biotechnology is the sector with the most potential
The exhibition sectors for biotechnology and the life sciences at Analytica have been growing at a rapid pace for years.
From medicine and pharmaceuticals to the environment and food, the latest techniques and solutions for red and green biotechnology will be on display at the 20th Analytica from 25-28 April 2006.
However, now white biotechnology is becoming an increasingly important focal point of the fair, as well, as more and more companies use biotechnology processes to replace classic syntheses, especially in chemical production.
With the exception of the United States, Germany is now the strongest location for biotechnological development and production in the world.
For this reason, biotechnology will also be the focus of increased attention at Analytica (together with laboratory technology and analysis), a development that will be obvious when the European exhibition is held for the 20th time in April 2006.
"Large, globally active corporations in particular have made biotechnology very strong in Germany during the past few years," explains Professor Peter Stadler, chairman of the German Association of Biotechnology Industries (DIB).
This is "particularly true in the process-development, production and technology divisions of our pharmaceutical and chemical corporations".
Germany even has an outstanding scientific foundation in the case of the industry's 'problem child', ie, plant biotechnology.
Experts estimate the value of biologically manufactured products in the global chemical industry at 50 billion euros.
Although 'red' biotechnology (medical and pharmaceutical applications) and 'green' biotech (genetic engineering) are the predominant applications in the eyes of the public, 'white' biotechnology is the sector that has the potential to secure Europe's and especially Germany's technological and economic lead in the chemical industry.
White products are old and new products in the chemical industry in which classic syntheses are increasing being replaced by biotechnological processes during production, at least in part.
The term white biotechnology refers the use of biological means and techniques to optimise industrial processes.
A distinction is made between biotransformation, ie, enzyme and cell-catalyst processes, and fermentative manufacturing processes.
While products manufactured using biotransformation are created in processes with one or a just few steps, entire metabolic pathways are used in fermentative processes.
BASF, Degussa, Henkel, Wacker - the chemical industry uses white biotechnology.
Degussa is a prime example of a company that uses the potential of white biotechnology: the Duesseldorf-based supplier of specialty chemicals developed processes for producing amino acids for animal feed - a market now worth billions - as early as the 1980s.
Henkel is also working on the front lines with improved enzyme systems that make laundry detergents more efficient and environmentally compatible.
And Wacker is a successful supplier of specialty products such as cysteine and cyclodextrins - the latter are odor-absorbing agents that are used in cleaning agents and to produce suit fabrics.
Biochemical processes have also established themselves at BASF, where they are used to produce vitamins and precision chemicals.
Applications are diverse.
Researchers now know of more than 3000 enzymes, 150 of which are already used in commercial applications.
White biotechnology is also becoming increasingly important for new techniques and products - most of which are more environmentally compatible - in other branches of industry such as the food, textile, cosmetic and paper industries.
The share of chemical products produced using biotechnology is only five percent.
However, that figure is expected to increase to ten to twenty percent by the year 2010 and will probably continue to grow after that (see 2004 McKinsey study on biotechnology's contribution to the chemical industry).
In five years, 60% of all chemical products could involve the use of white biotechnology in some form.
Above all, the advantages associated with biotechnology include reducing the number of synthesis steps, lowering consumption of raw materials, increasing energy efficiency, lowering emissions and, finally, reducing production costs.
Vitamin B2 (riboflavin), for example, was produced using a multiple-step synthesis process until 1990.
Then researchers and developers at BASF established a single-step fermentation process based on soy oil that offered key advantages over the old petrochemical process.
Waste was reduced by 95 percent, CO2 emissions by 30 percent and resource consumption by 60 percent.
As a result, the cost of producing vitamin B2 decreased by 40 percent.
The starch of the future - made of transgenic potatoes? Each year German companies process some 650,000 tons of starch for technological purposes, e.g in the paper, textile and adhesive industries.
Potato starch consists of a mixture of amylose and amylopectin.
Both starch components are equivalent in the diet, and only one component is generally required for industrial applications.
Separating the two components is complicated and pollutes the environment.
That is why growers and genetic engineers are looking for potatoes that only have one component.
Genetic engineers at BASF Plant Science have developed two potatoes of this type.
In the case of these tubers, the gene that is responsible for producing either amylose or amylopectin was switched off, blocking the production of the other starch component.
As the potato example - which borders between "green" and "white" - demonstrates, white biotechnology can be used in several branches of industry.
Its significance both in the chemical industry and in the food, cosmetics, textile and paper industries continues to increase.
New tools such as screening methods, metabolic engineering, global analysis methods such as genomics, proteomics and metabolomics, as well as bioinformatics tools are becoming more readily available.
Analytica and the Analytica Conference serve as a platform that unites research and industrial applications in various sectors and branches of industry.
Analytica is also a gathering that focuses on companies' situations and economic parameters, especially new biotech companies and startups, and presents them to a broad-based audience that includes the general public.
Financial situation remains tense Despite all the prospects and their promises of success - 'red' biotechnology continues to dominate the industry as far as the number of companies and sales are concerned.
The place to make money is the pharmaceutical sector.
The number of 'green' biotech companies, which focus on genetically engineered pest control, improved farming methods, new foodstuffs, renewable raw materials and medications from transgenic plants, is considerably lower.
Of the 350 German biotech companies whose primary business objective is listed as the 'commercialisation of modern biotechnology' in the Biotechnology Report published by Ernst and Young, 92 percent deal with the pharma sector, as opposed to 13 percent each for companies that deal with plants or the environment.
After years of ups and downs that saw the birth of several startups on a surge of risk capital, the German biotech industry is still in a phase of consolidation.
However, all indications are that the worst is behind us: According to Ernst and Young, sales are on the rise again, and losses are declining.
The German biotech sector is stabilizing, although there is no way that the amount of available venture capital can cover current demand for capital, especially among smaller and private companies.
White biotechnology is less affected by this development.
For Klaus Dittrich, managing director at Munich International Trade Fairs and head of Analytica, the exhibition sector for biotechnology and the life sciences will be an exciting sector full of innovations at Analytica 2006: "Although the economic situation remains tense, I expect this relatively new branch of industry to provide a great deal of momentum".
"The close link between personalised diagnostics - ie, identifying the genes that determine why pharmaceuticals have different effects on different individuals - and therapy is opening up new dimensions in the recognition and treatment of illnesses, especially the treatment of diseases that involve tumours.
"I refer to mini genetic-testing laboratories for emergency medicine, online diagnostics to understand the interaction processes of living cells and the use of biochips for the early recognition of common illnesses.
"That also applies to the use of biotechnology in industrial manufacturing.
"White biotechnology may not generate as much public attention as red or green biotechnology, but is has the potential to help the German biotech industry return to the top of the global market."
