11.30.16
Natural doesn't mean benign and now, it may not necessarily be the only renewable feedstock. Market research company Kline and Promotum, a management consulting firm specializing in business development at the convergence of fuels, chemicals, and biologics, have issued a series of reports analyzing the impact of synthetic biology on the specialty chemical and allied industries. The first report, Synthetic Biology: Opportunities and Threats for Renewables in Personal Care, will focus on personal care ingredients and describe the future of emollients, packaging, antimicrobials, and other segments. In addition, it will provide an analysis of key players, such as Intrexon, the Life Sciences group of REG, Ginkgo BioWorks, and Zymergen.
According to Kline, a revolution in how personal care ingredients are sourced and synthesized is under way. Driven by consumer preference for more natural products, ingredients made via synthetic biology will increasingly replace those made by synthetic chemistry. Rare, expensive, labor-intensive, or politically sensitive ingredients previously made from petroleum or extracted at low concentrations from animal or plant sources can now be cultured like wine and cheese without incurring the wrath of PETA, humanitarian, or environmental groups, according to the companies.
Microorganisms effectively convert feedstock to product in a single step, but their chemical intermediates are very different from those in a petrochemical refinery, and those intermediates can cut across traditional silos far beyond chemicals. A single biological pathway may yield pharmaceuticals, emollients, and fuels.
“More than new biology, this revolution is a collision of genetics, information science, and robotics,” says Sam Nejame, CEO of Promotum, co-author of the upcoming report. “Today, we may be in the chemical industry, but in the future, we will be in the sustainable functionalized carbon industry.”
According to Kline, synthetic biology will impact everything from space exploration, flavors and fragrances, food, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and nutriceuticals to personal care and every heavy industry in-between, but not every synthetic biology company will be successful.
According to Kline, a revolution in how personal care ingredients are sourced and synthesized is under way. Driven by consumer preference for more natural products, ingredients made via synthetic biology will increasingly replace those made by synthetic chemistry. Rare, expensive, labor-intensive, or politically sensitive ingredients previously made from petroleum or extracted at low concentrations from animal or plant sources can now be cultured like wine and cheese without incurring the wrath of PETA, humanitarian, or environmental groups, according to the companies.
Microorganisms effectively convert feedstock to product in a single step, but their chemical intermediates are very different from those in a petrochemical refinery, and those intermediates can cut across traditional silos far beyond chemicals. A single biological pathway may yield pharmaceuticals, emollients, and fuels.
“More than new biology, this revolution is a collision of genetics, information science, and robotics,” says Sam Nejame, CEO of Promotum, co-author of the upcoming report. “Today, we may be in the chemical industry, but in the future, we will be in the sustainable functionalized carbon industry.”
According to Kline, synthetic biology will impact everything from space exploration, flavors and fragrances, food, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and nutriceuticals to personal care and every heavy industry in-between, but not every synthetic biology company will be successful.