Healthcare industry

In keeping with a One Health approach,¹ the presentation of industrial biotechnology applications must also include medical-pharmaceutical biotechnology. Vitamins and antibiotics are among the most important biotechnologically produced products. Ascorbic acid (vitamin C), riboflavin (vitamin B2) and cobalamin (vitamin B12) are now manufactured almost exclusively using industrial biotechnology. The synthesis of riboflavin via a multistep chemical process has been completely replaced by biotechnological methods. Biotechnological production processes have clear advantages over chemical synthesis: They reduce production costs by 40% and resource consumption by 60%, while lowering CO₂ emissions by 30% and waste by 95%.² The new technology is also increasingly being used in the production of other important medicines.

The use of industrial biotechnology in the healthcare industry can contribute to achieving the following SDGs: