An Opportunity to Review More Than 50 Companies From Various Elements of the Bioprocessing Industry.

DUBLIN, Ireland -- Since the original discoveries of the 1970s, the use of recombinant DNA technology has led to the creation of a biotechnology industry which, in the US, now comprises more than 1,500 companies, of which 363 are public companies, with revenues just over $72 billion and employing more than 146,100 people. Europe represents about 17% of the global market, with 1,600+ companies employing 68,000 people and with revenues approximating $12 billion. The Asia/Pacific region has 700+ companies, employing 12,000 people and with revenues of $2 billion. Most of these companies worldwide are researching, developing, and manufacturing biopharmaceuticals.

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c40417) has announced the addition of The Bioprocessing Industry: Increasing Capacity, Production, and Efficiency, 2nd Edition to their offering.

"The Bioprocessing Industry: Increasing Capacity, Production, and Efficiency, 2nd Edition" marketing analysis report presents a thorough and organized analysis of this critical industry and its major components. This report covers the most important issues in bioprocessing including the threat of a significant shortage in manufacturing capacity, consolidation in key sectors of the industry and the next drug discovery trends fueling expansion. In addition, more than 50 companies from various elements of the bioprocessing industry are profiled in depth.

This report provides a comprehensive review of the bioprocessing industry and its major components. It focuses on those companies with a large stake in the overall success of the biopharmaceutical business, or those with a particular product or technology that offers significant advantages over competing products. Profiles of companies within the industry are included and consist of a summary of information obtained from the Scrip Pharmaceutical Companies Fact File database including corporate headquarters and locations, principals, licensing information, mergers & acquisitions, projects in R&D, products, financials, and corporate news.

One sector of the media business that is experiencing change is the supply of animal blood serum-based media supplements, especially fetal bovine serum. There has been a drive toward the use of serum-free media to improve safety and reduce processing. This international business is split between two major players, Invitrogen and HyClone, and about four smaller suppliers.

Capital equipment represents about 40% of the cost of a new GMP facility. In this market sector, there has been significant condensation, in which multifirm companies are still acquiring smaller companies and adding to their product range and geographical coverage. Examples include the SP Industries conglomerate, which now contains both major US manufacturers of lyophilizers and Thermo Electron in the centrifuge market. To a certain extent, this has reduced competition, although most operations still promote specific product ranges under their original brand names. The world market for the pilot to production-scale bioreactors and fermentors is estimated at $380 million, but it fluctuates widely, since capital expenditure on large custom plants can represent this figure from one installation, but this is not an annual event. Only three companies are of any importance in this business, New Brunswick, B. Braun (now a member of the Sartorius Group), and BioEngineering.

Since the technologies are also applicable to other industries, estimates of the value of the bioprocessing industry to the manufacturers of centrifuges, homogenizers, mills, and filter holders is difficult, but since one piece of major equipment may sell for $250,000 to $1 million, and a custom plant may cost several millions of dollars, the bioprocessing "hardware" market must be of the order of $100-500 million.

However, manufacturers of large sterile disposable containers and accessories are promoting a trend away from the static tank/pipe type of installation. On a scale of perhaps up to 500 L per batch, this trend may already be having an effect. The trend is likely to trend continue, and the growth of the supply of this type of equipment could be of the order of 10-15% per annum, at the expense of the more traditional stainless steel plant. Nalge Nunc, Inc., markets a wide range of smaller, disposable cell culture vessels and other plastic disposables. Average annual sales are about $300 million. Becton Dickinson and Co. market the competing "Falcon" range and claim a similar market share. In the chromatographic separations sector, GE Healthcare (formally Amersham Biosciences) leads the field, but there are at least fifteen other companies with appreciable market shares. Total AB sales are around $980 million per annum, with "separations" (principally chromatography equipment and media) yielding approximately $400 million of this. Other major players in this sector report revenues between $50 million and $100 million. This is possibly the most valuable bioprocessing sector, especially in terms of its consumables, but that position may be held by the filter business.

The Companies Mentioned inside this Report include:

Abgenix
Becton Dickinson
Boehringer Ingelheim
CSL
DSM Anti-Infectives
Dyax
GE Healtcare
GTC Biotherapeutics
Invitrogen
Large Scale Biology
Neose Technologies
PPL Therapeutics
ProMetic Life Sciences
Tosoh Corporation
West Pharmaceutical Services

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c40417