Scotland’s industrial biotechnology sector expected to surpass £1 billion turnover by 2025

Scotland’s industrial biotechnology community is expected to achieve annual turnover of £1.2bn by 2025, exceeding growth expectations by over £300m.

The projection was made in the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre’s (IBioIC) latest strategy, which was launched at its annual conference in Glasgow on Monday.  

The refreshed National Plan for Industrial Biotechnology, presented by business minister Ivan McKee, outlined new ambitions for Scotland’s bioeconomy to over 300 experts from industry and academia.

The strategy includes a target of 220 companies operating in the sector and more than 4,000 employees by 2025, reflecting the increasingly significant role of industrial biotechnology in the transition to net zero.

Following analysis, the IBiolC showed that businesses active in industrial biotechnology generated more than £790m of turnover during 2020, increasing from £189m in 2012 – before the launch of the first iteration of the strategy and the formation of the innovation centre.

Initial targets of the National Plan were set at £900m turnover and 2,500 employees by 2025.

McKee noted that the Scottish Government’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation, which was launched this year, underlined that biotech is a “current and future key industry for Scotland”.

“It is encouraging that Scotland’s vibrant industrial biotechnology sector is ahead of schedule to meet targets set out in Scotland’s original National Plan and has ambitious new goals for growth,” he said.

“Our National Strategy for Economic Transformation, launched earlier this year, sets out our plans for the next decade and highlights industrial biotechnology as a current and future key industry for Scotland that is fostering innovative and sustainable ways of using biological processes.  

“This includes identifying new market opportunities where Scotland has potential to develop industries like industrial biotechnology by building on our technological strengths.”

Companies active in the biotechnology industry have grown by over £600m in annual turnover since 2012.