After years of promises, industrial biotechnology stands at a pivotal juncture, where its potential can only be realized through deliberate and strategic actions. The path forward requires a focus on three core priorities: aligning innovations with market demand, rethinking scaling, and ensuring cost-effectiveness at scale. These priorities are not mere objectives but essential steps in transforming biotechnology into a cornerstone of sustainable and economically viable development.

© Advanced Biotech For Sustainability Coalition / *Harnessing the economic and environmental benefits of advanced biotechnology* Report. March, 2025

Market-Driven Innovation

Understanding and responding to market demand is fundamental. Biotechnology is no exception and must not only innovate but do so in ways that address real-world needs. This involves a rigorous analysis of market trends and consumer needs, ensuring that biotechnological advancements are both relevant and impactful. Only by aligning with market demand, biotechnology can drive meaningful change across sectors, from agriculture to healthcare.

Rethinking Scaling

The transition from laboratory innovation to industrial application is fraught with challenges, and needs to be rethought by bringing the industrial conditions in the lab and not vice versa. Scaling must be approached starting from the industrial conditions, while employing standardized processes and data-driven insights. This involves developing adaptable, sensor-rich biomanufacturing platforms that produce data and facilitate efficient scale-up while minimizing risks. The integration of automation and real-time monitoring is crucial, providing the precision needed to ensure robust and reliable processes. Arsenale is building the industrial backbone to enable biomanufacturing at industrial-scale by design through the integration of hardware, sensing, data and AI.

Achieving Economic Viability

For industrial biotechnology to be truly transformative, it must be economically viable and needs to emancipate itself from the cost structure of bio-pharma. This requires a relentless focus on optimizing production processes and reducing costs. By rethinking scaling and leveraging advanced technologies and continuous process improvement, biotechnology can achieve cost-effectiveness, making it competitive with traditional methods. Arsenale’s end-to-end platform is a core enabler to achieve economic viability.

Economic viability ensures that biotechnological solutions are accessible and sustainable, paving the way for widespread adoption – finally.

Conclusion

The potential of biotechnology is vast, but its realization depends on changing the rules of the game. Only by focusing on market-driven innovation, rethinking scaling, and economic viability, biotechnology can finally fulfill its promise as a driver of sustainable growth. These priorities provide a roadmap for navigating the complexities of the field, ensuring that biotechnology not only meets the challenges of today but also shapes the future.

About the AB4S Coalition

Advanced Biotech for Sustainability is a Coalition of industry-leading organizations from across the ecosystem (incl. incumbent, start-up, scale-up and non-profit) that are committed to unlocking the full potential of advanced biotechnology through thought leadership, actionable recommendations and cross-industry collaboration.

Until recently, unlocking the full potential of biotechnology has been challenged by insufficient scale. Therefore, in 2025, we joined forces with eleven industry players (incumbents and scale ups) and non-profits to foster cross-industry collaboration, provide fact-based insights and actionable roadmaps, and support decisions that accelerate the adoption of advanced biotechnology solutions.