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Summary and Breakdown of Australian Biotechnology Sectors

The following is a summary of Australian Biotechnology Sectors. It is intended as an overview of relevant areas, rather than a complete listing of biotechnology research and development. In alphabetical order:

Ag-Bio

• Plant biotechnology (e.g. tissue culture, embryogenesis, genetic markers, genetic engineering, plant breeding, floriculture, forestry)
• Animal biotechnology (e.g. diagnostics, therapeutics, embryo transplantation, genetic markers, genetic engineering, animal breeding, anti-microbials)
• Biofertilisers, biopesticides, bioherbicides, biological additives, microbial pest control, hormones, pheramones, and other agrichemicals.
  

Aquaculture/Marine Biotechnology

Kelp diver

• Fish health and nutrition (e.g. diagnostics, therapeutics)
• Brood stock genetics and animal breeding (e.g. tracking superior traits, genetic modification, triploiding oyster seed)
• Bioextraction and marine bioprospecting (e.g. polymers from seaweed, antifreeze, proteins from fish flavours, food additives from algae).

Environment

• Biofiltration and treatments (e.g. treatment of organic emissions to air/water)
• Bioremediation, waste management, phytoremediation (e.g. clean-up of toxic waste sites using microorganisms, marine bio-fouling, animal wastes)
• Diagnostics (e.g. detection of toxic substances using bioindicators, biosensors, immunodiagnostics).

Food Production and Processing

• Food processing (e.g. food products, food components, enzymes, yeasts, bacteria culture)
• Functional foods, additives, nutrichemicals (e.g. probiotics, unsaturated fatty acids).

Forest Products

Rainforest

• Silviculture (e.g. ectomycorrhizae, tissue culture, somatic embryogenesis, genetic markers, genetic engineering)
• Cleaner industrial bioprocessing (e.g. biopulping, biobleaching, biological prevention of sapstain).

Human Health

• Diagnostics (e.g. immunodiagnostics, gene probes, biosensors)
• Therapeutics (e.g. vaccines, immune stimulants, biopharmaceuticals, rational drug design, combinatorial chemistry)
• Gene therapy (e.g. gene identification, gene constructs, gene delivery, xenotransplants)
• Genomics/ Proteomics/ Bioinformatics/ Bioprospecting - genomics and molecular analysis (e.g. DNA/RNA/protein sequencing and databases for humans, plants, animals and microorganisms, structure function studies).

Industrial Biotech and General Biochemicals/Fine Chemical Feed Stock

• Custom bio-synthesis of biologicals (e.g. peptides, proteins, nucleotides, hormones, growth factors)
• Custom synthesis of fine chemicals (e.g. monomers, fuels, lubricants, fine chemical feed stocks, cosmetics).

Medical Devices, Equipment/Supplies and Bioengineering

• Equipment manufacture, instruments, consumables, reagents (e.g. development of stents, valves, monitoring of medical conditions, artificial limbs and structures, cochlear implants)
• Bioengineering, large scale fermentation and contract manufacturing, down stream processing
• Mining/Energy/Petroleum/Chemicals
• Microbiologically enhanced petroleum/mineral recovery
• Cleaner industrial bioprocessing (e.g. biodesulphurisation, biocracking, bio-recovery).

Nanotechnology

Specialist Service Provider

• Contract research and development to the biotechnology industry (e.g. high throughput screening, clinical trials)
• Consulting to the biotechnology industry (e.g. business development, legal and patent attorneys, communication and marketing, manufacturing, finance).
  

Australian Fast Facts

Scientist in the laboratory

• Around 400 core biotechnology companies (up from 190 in 2001)
• 82 listed biotech companies
• 43% of core biotech companies are human therapeutics, 17% are agricultural biotech and 15% are diagnostics companies
• Most companies continue to be based in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, followed closely by Western Australia and South Australia.
• The Australian Biotechnology and Healthcare sector was the leading industry sector for attracting VC in 2003 raising over A$200 million. Australian Biotechnology News reports on 10 December that Australian VCs invested more than A$1 million per week in Australian biotech in 2003-04, which was an increase on the previous year
• Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) - ASX Biotech and Healthcare sector market cap = A$27.1 billion (139 companies) up from A$23 billion in 2003. o ASX Biotech = A$7.132 billion
• Revenue generated from Australian biotech and devices companies rose from almost A$1 billion (2001) to around A$2 billion in 2002-03
• Australian life science stocks gained 41.5% in the financial year ending 30 June 2004, underpinned by a strongly performing pharmaceutical sub-sector (up 96.8%), biotech sub-sector up 37.5%, and medical devices up 12%
• A$364 million raised through all placements in 2004 of which over A$192 million raised through IPOs
• A$647 million in biotech related business expenditure on R&D
• Around A$1 billion of public sector expenditure for biotech in 2002-03 (mainly through universities).

Sources:

• Hopper and Thorburn, 2003, Bio-Industry Review, Australia & New Zealand
• Bioshares - www.bioshares.com.au
• PriceWaterhouse Coopers BioForum Report, No 9
• Global Partners ­ Australian Biotechnology 2004
• Australian Biotechnology News - www.biotechnews.com.au

Summary and Breakdown of New Zealand biotechnology

New Zealand'sbiotechnology community works in all fields of biotech - agricultural, industrial, environmental and biomedical.

New Zealands more than 150 years of experience in genetic improvement of animals and plants has created one of themost efficient agricultural economies.

Successive governments have invested heavily in biotechnology research. New Zealands scientists, researchers and businesses have maximized the value of private and public sector investments in science and technology through high levels of collaboration and an ability to work with a wide range of partners. By matching different skills and disciplines they have often produced new approaches to old problems.

New Zealand's Strengths

Microscopic fish scale

New Zealands strengths in biotechnology lie in:

• Large animal-based technologies New Zealands long history of sheep, dairy, beef and more recently deer farming has given rise to world-class science and technologies including genomics, reproduction and cloning, large animal models of human diseases and molecular approaches to enhance both animal and human health.New Zealand also has the best animal health status in the world.
  
• Plant-based biotechnologies New Zealand has significant knowledge of the biology of industrially significant plants, pasture grasses and clover, trees and crops. This has helped create some of the worlds most efficient pastoral farmers, but also provides some unique germ plasm and expanding genomic databases which are being applied to ag-bio, bio-remediation and transgenic plants.
  

• Biomedical science and drug discovery New Zealand medical schools have established a tradition of internationally competitive medical research. From this base a number of boutique drug discovery companies have grown in areas such as neuroscience, cardiovascular disease, asthma, diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis and bone health.

• Bioprocessing and biomanufacturing – A combination of a unique genetic and geological diversity and bioprocessing skills has ensured New Zealand is well placed to develop technologies to manufacture and market high-value molecules.

• Biocontrol, biosecurity and bioremediation – New Zealand has a strong economic stake in preserving its environment leading to a vibrant research base in environmental research and sustainable production which is being leveraged into environmental technologies.

Scientists working in laboratory with microscopes

• Innovative foods and health Food and beverage exports make up nearly half New Zealands exports. The resource provided by the nations farms, allied with world-leading expertise in extracting beneficial compounds, means New Zealand is well placed to help satisfy growing international demand for nutraceutical, bioactives and functional health foods.

http://www.nzbio.org.nz