Key strategies for realizing industrial biotech’s full potential.

Biotechnology holds immense promise, yet its full potential remains untapped. To bridge this gap, the industry must embrace strategic shifts that streamline processes and enhance scalability. Central to this transformation are three pivotal strategies: reducing the number of variables, embracing standardization, and transitioning from high-tech development to low-tech deployment. These strategies are essential for reshaping biotechnology into a force that is both scalable and capable of delivering on its long-promised impact.

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

Reducing the Number of Variables

In biotechnology, complexity often arises from the multitude of variables involved in development and production. Streamlining these variables is crucial for focusing resources and enhancing efficiency.

By honing in on fewer, more promising technologies, processes and methods — such as precision fermentation, innovation in strain engineering (precision gene editing for enhanced metabolic pathway engineering, versatile feedstock utilization, improved stress resistance), novel sensing, data acquisition and modeling capabilities allowing for real time bioprocess monitoring, insights and control, — the industry can channel its efforts towards initiatives with the greatest potential for transformative adoption.

This targeted approach not only optimizes resource allocation but also accelerates the path to impactful innovation.

Embracing Standardization

Standardization serves as the backbone for harmonizing processes, tools, and technologies, driving cohesion and efficiency across the biotechnology sector. By establishing uniformity in terminology, process tools, and methods, the industry can streamline operations and accelerate development. For instance the Bioyard that Arsenale is building is a good example of how standardisation and modularisation can be brought to bear. Standardization will play an important role in aligning investors, normalizing to standard processes, and accelerating lead times. It could, for instance, guide the holistic assessment of maturity level of projects and start-ups. This unified approach reduces lead times and fosters a collaborative environment that propels the sector forward.

Transitioning from High-Tech to Low-Tech Deployment

The shift from high-tech development to low-tech deployment is vital for making biotechnology accessible and scalable. This transition involves moving from complex, high-tech solutions to cost-effective, repeatable deployments of mature technology. The whole concept behind Arsenale’s Design@Scale is geared towards achieving such a shift. By focusing on solutions that are easily replicable and leveraging established supply chains, biotechnology can achieve broader adoption and impact. This pragmatic approach not only reduces costs but also accelerates the deployment of biotechnological innovations across industries, ensuring that advancements reach those who need them most.

Acknowledging the Potential

While the emphasis is on these strategic shifts, the potential of biotechnology remains significant. Only with the right strategies in place, biotechnology can capture substantial market opportunities and deliver meaningful environmental benefits. However, realizing this potential hinges on the ability to streamline processes, standardize operations, and deploy technologies effectively.

Conclusion

The journey to realizing biotechnology's potential lies in embracing strategic shifts that reduce complexity and enhance scalability. The first and most important one, is a mindset-shift moving industrial biotech from being a scientific endeavour to becoming an industrial one. By focusing on reducing variables, standardizing processes, and transitioning to low-tech deployment, the biotechnology sector can overcome longstanding challenges and finally achieve meaningful impact. These strategies provide a roadmap for transforming biotechnology into a scalable and sustainable force for innovation and growth.

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.