Wellington
A wee while back sticK reported how high tech companies should
The same can be said for our biological industries (which are also of course high tech).
Because, better late than never, the 2010 Bioscience Industry Report comes with some prettyencouraging news for those making clever use of biology and brains. See the actual report
In spite of the global financial crisis (2008) occurring in the middle of the report’sreporting period; 2007-2009, the sector’s shown remarkable growth.
At the same time, the report has taken the opportunity to expand beyond a biotechnologydefinition - which comes with a bit of implied gene jockeying baggage, whether true or not.
Biosciences is an OECD term – and focuses on primary applications within the bioeconomy(includes animal, foods, and human health, plant and marine), health (includes biomedical scienceand drug discovery) and the environment (includes bioprocessing and biomanufacturing).
If, using the last report’s biotechnology definition, there had been an additional 45 newcompanies in the period, while under the biosciences moniker, there were a further 57 organisations.
In all, it reveals that there’s 267 bioscience organisations – growth at a time whenworldwide there’s been much contraction.
As the report says, it is difficult to separate out bioscience income and activities from otherbiological exports, but then it delves into the sector’s entrails, reveals that between theprevious report in 2007 and this one, net profit for dedicated bioscience organisations (anestimated 108) has more than tripled to over $121 million.
It also gives a few observations about the industry – one not surprising one being that venturecapital in the $5-8 million region is hard to obtain.
But angel investment has been a standout.
The report takes the opportunity to give a swerve to rules around intellectual property,particularly the fact that unlike other investments, the whole of the price of a patent sale (forexample) is taxed. The costs of acquiring the knowledge, or legal fees associated with obtaining thepatent aren’t taken into account.
All in all, the report’s a nice little reminder that the backbone of New Zealand’s economyhas a biological base – and biosciences is the addition of brains to this base.
Sure, we need to be much cleverer about what and how we derive value – be it specific activeingredients, energy (with LanzaTech as the poster child) or the health area.
But, if there’s one thing the report does indicate, it is certainly that a little bit ofbragging is due.