New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Strategic Analysis of the World Plant Molecular Farming Market, reveals that the biopharmaceutical market generated revenues of USD 45.0 billion in 2004. It is likely to reach USD 98.2 billion by 2011.
Despite this soaring demand for biopharmaceuticals, little progress is being made toward the improving efficiency and reducing costs in conventional biomanufacturing processes using microbial or mammalian fermentation systems. However, using transgenic plants as a production method for biopharmaceuticals has the potential to improve scale-ability and yield, which will allow a dramatic reduction in biomanufacturing costs.
"Using plants as factories to produce recombinant protein products is emerging as a cost-effective, high capability solution to the issue of production capacity," says Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Phil Webster. "Several companies are now investigating the potential of plant molecular farming, with the market consisting predominantly of small start-ups working independantly, and large multinationals offering third-party services."
Several major challenges must be overcome before plant molecular farming can take a significant share of the biopharmaceutical manufacturing industry. Participants in this industry will have to deal with public perception issues, which are particularly unfavourable in Europe where transgenic crops cannot currently be grown for commercial purposes. This is affecting the ability of small companies to obtain venture capital funding, a major challenge for an industry dominated by start-ups. However, the unofficial moratorium on transgenic crops in Europe is beginning to wain, as more transgenic products are granted approval for market. No products produced by plant molecular farming are currently available in this emerging market, but as the first ones approach launch around 2006, the regulatory climate is expected to ease as case studies are presented for approval.