Enzymes are gaining ground

Even though “white biotechnology” is no longer new, the use of biotechnology techniques such as biocatalysis in industrial processes has not really come to the forefront until recently. What began a hundred years ago when amylases, proteases and lipases where used in bakeries, tanneries and breweries is now seen as the new driving force in the life science industry. The discovery of increasing numbers of enzymes and the growing sophistication of recombinant technologies have substantially broadened the commercial and technical
scope. The level of acceptance for this technology is increasing in step with the impressive progress which we are witnessing.

Technical Insights has expressed this view in a recent study. The core message from this Frost & Sullivan business unit is that the influence of biocatalysis on industrial production processes will continue to grow. There will be more and more opportunities for biological processes to replace conventional chemical production methods. For example, the elimination of traditional synthesis steps in the production of vitamins and antibiotics can reduce cost and have a positive effect on the environment.
However, compared to the USA and Japan, Europe is lagging behind in white biotechnology. The fact that the FDA has recently approved more than 150 medicines and vaccines produced using biotechnology clearly indicates the importance that this technology has in the USA.
Factors which hinder the use of biocatalytic methods include cost and legal hurdles. High research and development expenditure has to be included in cost calculations for the biopharmaceutical production of medicines. However, the real problem often simply lies in technical implementation.
To achieve business success using biocatalysis you
have to conduct an analysis of the entire process at an early stage to identify optimization potential which
would result from the use of catalysts, as we explain in our article on page 14.
Isolated development of enzyme systems without looking at the entire process and at existing or
necessary infrastructure is seldom likely to be
successful.

-Jörg R. Kempf-