BRAIN Biotech Group

For several years now, we have been back on a clear growth path. Our goal is to establish BRAIN Biotech as one of the top 10 enzyme companies in the world. In the medium term, we plan to almost double the Group's revenues to EUR 100 million and to increase the adjusted EBITDA margin.

Our product business in the BioProducts segment is the Group's primary growth segment. In recent years, we have already invested heavily in expanding production capacity at our sites.

Our growth strategy is geographically focused on Europe and North America. We are pursuing both organic growth and targeted, value-enhancing acquisitions. We have identified an addressable market with structural growth and a sales volume of approximately EUR 2 billion - just the relevant part of the total market for biotechnologically produced enzymes, which is estimated at EUR 5 billion.

Following a period of high investment in recent years, we have now entered an accelerated commercialization phase for projects from our BioIncubator. Investments in highly efficient production strains and in our proprietary genome editing technology are already leading to increasing licensing revenues in our custom solutions business.

We are constantly working to further integrate the BRAIN Biotech Group companies, to leverage synergies, to expand our product portfolio and to increase our efficiency. We have already achieved good results in this regard in recent years, and we expect that the growth rate of our Adjusted EBITDA will continue to exceed the growth rate of our revenues in the future.

As a leading integrated supplier of high-quality enzymes for specialty applications and innovative biotechnology solutions, we help industry make products more natural and processes more efficient and sustainable. We focus on structural growth areas: nutrition, life sciences and the environment.  

The main drivers of this structural growth are an ever-increasing world population and the need to provide more and more protein sources from non-animal sources, the general trend towards healthier and more natural diets, biotechnologically produced pharmaceutical active ingredients and the search for alternatives to petrochemical process chains.

Alternative proteins to replace animal proteins

For animal welfare, vegan food and more sustainable nutrition for a growing world population.

Biotechnology for natural and sustainable food

For industrially produced foods without chemical additives, with an improved flavor profile, more pleasant texture or better appearance.

Biotechnology for Life Sciences

Enzymes for biocatalytic drug production or diagnostic applications.

Biotechnology for the environmental protection

Extending the shelf life of food, utilizing side streams from the food industry, increasing production yields, reducing energy and water consumption, or eliminating waste; biorecycling processes.

Our group of companies is a forge of innovation, and we are constantly working to push the boundaries of what is possible: towards optimized specialty enzymes, high-performance production organisms and highly efficient fermentation processes.

We are a competent solution provider for industry - from research over the scaling of industrial biological processes to large-scale production of enzymes and proteins. Since BRAIN Biotech was founded in 1993, we have evolved from a specialized R&D company to a provider of integrated solutions. Today, we cover the entire value chain for specialty enzymes, provide starter cultures and develop intelligent bioprocesses for microbial production. This comprehensive service is a significant competitive advantage over many other biotech companies. 

The innovative power of our research and development not only creates new opportunities, but also gives our customers a clear competitive advantage.

Interdisciplinary and applying state-of-the-art technologies

With more than 30 years of experience in industrial biotechnology, we have a broad and in-depth knowledge of enzymes and microorganisms and how to optimize them. Our interdisciplinary approach, combining expertise from different scientific disciplines with process engineering expertise, helps us to continuously think of and develop new products and services for our customers.

Unlike many other biotech companies, our technology and product portfolio is not limited to individual technologies and methods. We already offer our industrial customers a comprehensive range of more than 600 products and have built up a strong track record with our industrial partners with over 200 successfully completed research projects.

A central component of our R&D expertise is bioinformatics. We rely on the latest technologies, from MetXtraTM, our proprietary digital enzyme and protein database, to rational bioprospecting, structural bioinformatics and the use of artificial intelligence prediction models.

Genome editing: a core competency

Targeted cell modification through genome editing is one of our core competencies. The resulting microorganisms are the backbone of any biological production chain. We use commercially available technologies as well as our proprietary genome editing nucleases G-dase M® and G-dase E®. We use this technology for our own and our customers' projects to achieve better and faster results in the optimization of enzymes and microorganisms.

Industrial biotechnology has become a key driver of innovation and sustainability in the global economy. It is already being described as the dawn of the era of biology, as industrial biotechnology has the potential to transform traditional industries into more sustainable, environmentally friendly enterprises.

Industrial biotechnology, which aims to harness biological processes and organisms to produce goods and services, has experienced significant growth in recent years. The biotechnology market volume was estimated at USD 1.21 trillion in 2022 and is expected to increase from USD 1.38 trillion in 2023 to USD 3.90 trillion in 2031, representing a compound annual growth rate of 13.9% over the forecast period (2024-2031).¹

We are an integrated solution provider for our industrial partners along the entire value chain, from research to large-scale production. Our core skills are: 

• enzymes as natural catalysts that speed up chemical reactions;
• microorganisms forming the basis of any bio-based industrial production process;
• our advanced bioprocess technology as the key to production optimization in the fermenter.

Enzymes and microorganisms can be used in industrial processes to

• reduce the need for harsh chemicals,
• lower energy consumption and
• refine industrial waste streams into valuable products.

We enable companies in the nutrition, life science and environmental sectors to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, decrease their dependence on non-renewable resources and increase their contribution to a more sustainable global economy. Integrating our biotechnology solutions into manufacturing processes can also lead to significant cost savings and productivity gains for our partners.

¹Source: Global Biotechnology Market, 2024: https://www.skyquestt.com/report/biotechnology-market

We develop products and solutions for our customers that directly address the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: 2, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 13.

Our own development projects, those with partners and our products are aimed at solutions that lead to a better, healthier, and more sustainable life. Some highlights from recent years:

• Comprehensive product portfolio of enzymes and microorganisms for production using biological processes.
• Highly efficient production strains for manufacturing processes in bioreactors, known as biofactories.
• Proprietary genetic engineering tools for targeted DNA/RNA modification for precision fermentation.
• Identification and development of new nature-based sweeteners, flavor enhancers and texturizers.
• Recycling of gold and other precious metals from waste streams (computer scrap, slag and other wastes of mineral origin): biological extraction processes replacing conventional chemical processes.
• Battery recycling: biological processes to recycle precious metals and lithium
• Enzymatic cleaning of chronic wounds: painful and riskier methods can be avoided; SolasCure spin-out 2018 to conduct clinical trials and the pharmaceutical approval process.
• Circular economy processes in which by-products of production become new raw materials: CO2 as a raw material for chemicals, nature-based antioxidants or fermented food.

Further information can be found in our initial ESG and sustainability report.