Synthetic biology is a future oriented and interdisciplinary subject with broad market space and application fields. Synthetic biology is an emerging field guided by engineering thought and combined with multiple disciplines. Through a series of redesign and technical transformation of organisms or cells to make them have new capabilities, it can be used to solve many problems, such as medical health, food safety, energy shortage, environmental pollution and so on. According to CB insights, the market scale of synthetic biology will grow to US $18.9 billion by 2024, with a compound growth rate of 29.1% from 2020 to 2024. USDA predicts that by 2025, bio based chemicals will account for 22% of the global chemical market share and its annual output value will exceed US $500 billion.
The singularity of industry development has emerged, the industrialization process of synthetic biological manufacturing has accelerated, and the attention of the capital market has increased. 1) Chassis technologies such as gene sequencing, synthesis and editing have achieved breakthroughs and shown good potential for cost control. The singularity of industry development has come. In the future, synthetic biology is expected to achieve rapid technological iteration and development; 2) Synthetic biology has obvious advantages in producing some special and complex products, such as natural compounds and hand compounds. At the same time, it has begun to show competitiveness in some low-carbon small molecule chemicals, which is expected to subvert the existing petrochemical production line in the future; 3) Using renewable raw materials to replace non renewable energy under the goal of carbon neutralization is the future trend, and synthetic biology is an ideal means to realize the efficient utilization of biomass energy in the future. The demand for sustainable development has prompted developed economies such as Europe and the United States to focus on the biological manufacturing industry. At the same time, the global capital market has increasingly favored the biological manufacturing field.
Biological manufacturing is one of the key development industries in China’s construction of a scientific and technological power, with great potential for emission reduction. Since the State Council listed biological manufacturing as an important part of the biological industry in 2010, and the 13th five year plan has further clarified that biological manufacturing is the main direction of China’s strategic emerging industry. Since the 12th Five Year Plan, the compound growth rate of China’s biological industry has exceeded 15%. In 2020, its industrial scale has reached 8-10 trillion yuan, and the added value of biological industry accounts for more than 4% of GDP, Become the leading industry of the national economy. According to the statistics of the Institute of natural engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, compared with the petrochemical route, at present, the average energy conservation and emission reduction of bio manufactured products is 30% – 50%, and the potential in the future will reach 50% – 70%. This will play an important role in promoting the substitution of fossil raw materials, the substitution of high energy consumption, high material consumption and high emission process routes, and the upgrading of traditional industries.
Bio based chemicals can help China’s related industries get rid of import dependence and overtake in corners. At present, the application mode of synthetic biology using “cell factory” to produce key compounds has attracted more attention in China. Compared with the development of synthetic biology technology and related companies around the world, China has a good industrial foundation and supporting industrial system in the manufacturing industry, and has significant advantages in downstream fermentation, separation and extraction and other industrial production. Because synthetic biology technology can produce some natural compounds or compounds with high barriers in the process of traditional chemical production through strain transformation and screening, it is expected to make China get rid of the import dependence of some high barrier chemicals and realize overtaking in corners.
It is suggested to pay attention to: Cathay Biotech Inc(688065) (688065. SH), Anhui Huaheng Biotechnology Co.Ltd(688639) (688639. SH), etc.
Risk warning: R & D progress is not as expected; Technology diffusion risk; Biosafety and ethical risks.
