February Issue

Is there shortage or excess of fermentation capacity for the various novel products in the research pipeline which will eventually appear in the market?

This is a perennial question posed by every biotech company engaged in a development programme and can not be answered by a yes or no. It all depends on the expression system and whether bacterial or mammalian culture is needed. Within the past decade several companies have established fermentation facilities for toll manufacture of biotech products, notably Boehringer-Ingelheim and Lonza. Other groups including Abbott, DSM and Pharmacia have spare capacity for tolling fermentation products i.e. antibiotics, amino acids, enzymes. However tolling capacities are not unlimited and available capacity may rapidly disappear as soon as a number of successful novel products are developed.

Given this precarious balance between feast and famine should fermentation and biotechnology companies expand their capacities? This problem is addressed in our survey; 'Established vs. Recombinant Fermentation Industry - Production Costs and Capacity Requirements by 2005'. Dairy flavours are important ingredients for the rapidly expanding sector of snack foods. Traditionally these flavours were based on butyrates and diacetyl considered as 'first-generation'. In recent years 'enzyme-modified cheese' produced by the reaction of cheese with a variety of enzymes including lipase, protease and aminopeptidase have been adapted as successful dairy flavours for snack foods, sauces, dips and pizza toppings. This represents a dynamic sector of the enzyme business reviewed in our latest survey: 'Enzyme-Using Industries Towards 2005'

Dairy flavours are also generated by the application of starter cultures [Lactobacilli, Streptococci] classically used in the manufacture of cheese and yoghurt. Several companies are developing combined enzyme and culture systems to develop 'second-generation' dairy flavours. See our latest survey 'Starter Cultures and Probiotics - Market Opportunities by 2005.

We have expanded our list of surveys covering nutraceuticals or functional foods. These have become increasingly significant to health- conscious consumers. The following surveys review the applications, producers, output, prices and outlook of:

• Coenzyme Q10
• PUFAs
• Beta-Glucans
• alpha-Lipoic Acid
• Carnosine
• l-Carnitine
• S-Adenosyl Methionine [SAMe]
• Isoflavones
• Gingko Biloba
• Beta-Carotene
• Tocopherols

Despite the low prices and intense competition in beta-lactam antibiotics many comapnies are considering possibilities of broadening their range of penicillins and cephalosporins. The business situation is enhance for European companies as prices are quoted in dollars where the value of the dollar to the Euro is particularly high. There is also interest in developing novel antibiotics which are effective against 'superbugs' which have developed resistance against classical antibiotics. This new generation of post-vancomycin antibiotics is slowly appearing in the market - see our survey 'The Antibiotics Industry - Current Status and Outlook by 2005' .