The combination of knowledge, research, know-how and a solid infrastructure has been encouraging to entrepreneurs. Most new companies have emerged from research and innovations that originated in universities or institutes of technology. Biotechnology centers and science parks established with universities act as catalysts, merging companies and biotechnology-focused research units. All centers include incubators and support services for start-up companies. The main centers are in Helsinki, Turku, Tampere, Kuopio, and Oulu.
There were about 150 biotech companies operating in Finland in 2006. Most of these (about 100) are companies exploiting biotechnology or closely related technologies. Besides these core companies there are a variety of support companies, mostly subcontractors or consulting firms, which focus in areas such as clinical research, patenting, licensing, contract law or business development.
Most of the biotech companies are start-ups, SMEs with fewer than 30 employees. The start-up companies mainly focus on research and development and have not yet reached the production stage. Currently, more than 90 per cent of the revenue generated by companies comes from exports.
More than half of Finland’s biotech companies operate in the health sector, carrying out research and developing or manufacturing drugs, diagnostics, biomaterials or functional food. Large companies concentrate on the production of pharmaceuticals, diagnostic test systems, industrial enzymes and the application of biotechnology in food processing. A few companies are engaged in plant biotechnology and bioinformatics.
There are about 30 companies developing drugs (including Ark Therapeutics, BioTie Therapies, CTT Cancer targeting Technologies, FIT Biotech, Galileaeus, Hormos Medical and Ipsat Therapies). Some 40 companies are engaged in in-vitro diagnostics (including Jurilab, Medix Biochemica, Orion Diagnostica, PerkinElmer Wallac, Raisio Diagnostics and Thermo Electron), and all of these aim to place products on the international market.
In biomaterials, which feature in a wide range of applications all the way from the biodegradable implants used in bone repair to materials used in tooth replacement, wound management and drug delivery, Finland has some ten companies, among them Inion, ConMed Linvatec Biomaterials, Stick Tech and Vivoxid.
In Finland’s food industry, extensive studies of functional foods with health-promoting effects are under way. Several companies – Danisco Finland, Raisio and Valio – are working with research institutes to combine developments in food technology with advances in biomedical research.
Finland also has a significant presence in industrial-scale enzyme production. The bigger players in this sector are Roal and Genencor International. To improve product quality and reduce the requirement for environmentally-harmful chemicals, novel enzymes resulting from research and development work at universities, public research institutes and companies are being exploited in the pulp and paper, textile, food, and feed industries.
Some companies, like Finnzymes, concentrate on high quality enzymes for research.
Research Institute of the Finnish Economy ETLA has conducted two surveys on the Finnish biotech industry, one in 2002, covering 2001, and another in 2004, covering 2003. At the end of 2001, there were an estimated 119 biotech companies in Finland, including 73 SMEs. At the end of 2003, there were approximately 120 biotech companies in Finland, of which 93% were SMEs (112 companies). The survey included the OECD definition of biotechnology.
The 2004 survey focused only on SMEs, as it was felt that the larger firms would skew
results. In 2003, the diagnostics and devices sector had the largest number of firms (43 SMEs), followed by the drug discovery/development sector (34 SMEs), and then the food and feed sector (22 SMEs). Some SMEs were active in more than one sector and are therefore double counted.
Total sales by Finnish biotech SMEs were approximately 332 M€ in 2003. However, the sector as a whole was not making a profit, with total operating profits and total net profits at -60 M€ and -70 M€, respectively.
Sales in enzymes were highest, representing 34% of total sales by Finnish biotech SMEs in 2003. The drug development sector followed with 24% in sales. The food and feed sector ranked third, with 20% of sales. The bioinformatics sector had the lowest sales figures, with 0.2% of sales.
The 2004 survey also collected information on the cross between the biotechnology technique (using the OECD list-based definition) and sector of application. DNA biotechnology techniques were most prevalent. These techniques were used in every sector of application. Only three techniques − all process biotechnology techniques − were not used at all by Finnish biotech SMEs: biopulping, biodesulphurisation and bioremediation. The bioinformatics sector reported using the widest array of techniques, followed closely by the drug development sector and the diagnostics sector.
Critical I has conducted two surveys on the European biotech industry, one in 2005, covering 2003, and in 2006, covering 2004. The reports compare biotechnology sectors across some eighteen European nations and the USA.
The reports find that the European and the US biotechnology industries both have around 2000 companies, but the US sector employs nearly twice as many people, spends around three times as much on research and development, has twice the number of employees involved in research and development, raises over twice as much venture capital, and has access to 10 times as much debt finance. It earns twice as much revenue.
Finnish Bioindustries FIB is Finland’s biotechnology industry association, established in 1997. It is a private, independent, non profit organisation. FIB has about 60 member companies varying from big pharma enterprises to small start-ups. The companies represent all life science areas. FIB is member of BIO, EuropaBio and AusBiotech.
Further information:
Saara Hassinen, Director General
Finnish Bioindustries FIB
P.O.Box 4
00131 Helsinki, Finland,
Tel: +358 9 1728 4308
Fax: +358 9 630 225