GINC Critical Technology
Capability group

Biotechnology & Health Technologies

The capacity to read, write, make and deploy biology: genomics and biological data, engineering biology, biomanufacturing, radioisotope medicine, and the therapeutics and countermeasures that protect the population.

Domain
Critical Technology · Hard Power
Identifier
factbase.org/cpg/C1R7JPV524
Capabilities
5

Bounds. Holds biotechnology as national capacity; the health system that delivers care belongs to Human Capital, hospitals, laboratories and stockpiles to Strategic Infrastructure, biological defence to National Security, the industry's economic weight to the economic domains, and the governance of biology, biosafety and research oversight, to the governance domain. Dual-use capacity is recorded as capacity, with employment classified where it occurs.

Capabilities

Genomics & Biological DataSR9QT9QP16The capacity to read and hold biology at national scale: sequencing, genomic analysis and the biological datasets that are becoming strategic assets in their own right.Research14.9k papers +20%China 20%Patents87.9k families +57%China 70%Synthetic Biology & Genetic EngineeringGKT52EY61SThe capacity to write biology: engineering organisms and biological systems, gene editing, design tools and the platform technologies that turn biology into an engineering discipline.Research6.8k papers +5%China 20%Patents135.1k families +64%China 70%BiomanufacturingSXV2R9FW2KThe capacity to make with biology: fermentation, cell and gene production platforms, vaccine and biologics manufacture, and the bioprocess technology that turns biological designs into supply.Research2.4k papers +42%China 14%Patents126.5k families +38%China 67%Nuclear Medicine & Radioisotope TechnologiesJH8DZ65Q2EThe capacity to produce and apply medical radioisotopes and radiation technologies, isotope supply, radiopharmaceuticals, and the therapy and imaging systems that depend on a fragile global chain.Research33.4k papers +6%United States 21%Patents14.5k families +29%China 51%Advanced Therapeutics, Vaccines & Medical CountermeasuresW75WG1C328The capacity to develop and field advanced therapeutics, vaccines and medical countermeasures, new modalities, antimicrobials, and the development-at-speed capability that pandemics and biological threats demand.Research94.7k papers +104%United States 21%Patents81.3k families +55%China 47%

The capabilities compared

Papers and patent families, 2020–2024, with growth on the five years before and the leading nation in each.

CapabilityPapersGrowthResearch leaderFamiliesGrowthPatent leader
Genomics & Biological Data14.9k+20%China 20%87.9k+57%China 70%
Synthetic Biology & Genetic Engineering6.8k+5%China 20%135.1k+64%China 70%
Biomanufacturing2.4k+42%China 14%126.5k+38%China 67%
Nuclear Medicine & Radioisotope Technologies33.4k+6%United States 21%14.5k+29%China 51%
Advanced Therapeutics, Vaccines & Medical Countermeasures94.7k+104%United States 21%81.3k+55%China 47%

Research across the group

Papers by year for each capability, and the nations' shares of the group's papers, 2020–2024. A capability that shares a v0.0 topic with another counts it in both.

  1. 1United States20.5%31,245 papers
  2. 2China9.1%13,911 papers
  3. 3United Kingdom6.0%9,166 papers
  4. 4India4.8%7,241 papers
  5. 5Germany3.9%5,992 papers
  6. 6Italy3.3%4,952 papers
  7. 7Canada2.9%4,491 papers
  8. 8Australia2.7%4,131 papers
  9. 9France2.4%3,712 papers
  10. 10Japan2.4%3,691 papers

Patents across the group

Patent families by priority year for each capability, and the origin nations' shares of the group's families, 2020–2024. A family in two capabilities' classes counts in both.

  1. 1China64.3%286,282 families
  2. 2United States16.0%71,206 families
  3. 3South Korea5.1%22,917 families
  4. 4Japan4.2%18,894 families
  5. 5Germany1.4%6,192 families
  6. 6United Kingdom1.1%4,750 families
  7. 7France0.9%3,892 families
  8. 8Switzerland0.8%3,624 families
  9. 9Canada0.6%2,756 families
  10. 10Taiwan0.5%2,309 families

Companies

203 companies in Biotechnology & Health Technologies, across 8 regions. The leading 12:

  1. 1Ginkgo BioworksLargest horizontal cell-programming platform, running automated foundries that design and engineer organisms for pharma, agriculture and industrial customers.Design
  2. 2IlluminaDominant supplier of short-read sequencing-by-synthesis instruments (NovaSeq X, NextSeq, MiSeq) and the top international patent applicant in this capability.Manufacture
  3. 3PfizerCo-developed and manufactured the Comirnaty mRNA COVID-19 vaccine with BioNTech, produces Paxlovid oral antiviral and the Prevnar and Abrysvo vaccine franchises.Design
  4. 4Siemens HealthineersLeading maker of SPECT and PET/CT scanners (Biograph line) and, through PETNET Solutions, one of the largest PET radiopharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution networks; also owns Varian radiotherapy.Manufacture
  5. 5Thermo Fisher ScientificLargest supplier of bioprocess media, single-use systems and analytics, and through Patheon one of the largest biologics and viral-vector CDMOs.Equipment & materials
  6. 6Danaher (Cytiva, Pall)Its Cytiva and Pall units are the leading suppliers of chromatography resins, filtration, bioreactors and turnkey modular biologics plants (KUBio).Equipment & materials
  7. 7GE HealthCareMajor supplier of PET/CT, SPECT/CT and cyclotrons plus a Pharmaceutical Diagnostics unit making SPECT and PET tracers (e.g. DaTscan, Vizamyl) and owner of the MIM Software molecular-imaging suite.Manufacture
  8. 8ModernamRNA platform company behind Spikevax (COVID-19) and mRESVIA (RSV), with a pipeline of mRNA vaccines for influenza, CMV and individualized cancer vaccines.Design
  9. 9BGI GroupChina's genomics champion; its affiliate MGI Tech (SSE 688114) makes DNBSEQ sequencers that compete with Illumina, and BGI Genomics (SZSE 300676) is one of the world's largest sequencing service providers.Manufacture
  10. 10LonzaWorld's largest contract development and manufacturing organisation for biologics, cell and gene therapies, with mammalian and microbial capacity across Europe, US and Asia.Manufacture
  11. 11Merck & Co. (MSD)Major vaccine maker (Gardasil, Capvaxive, Ervebo Ebola vaccine) and developer of antivirals (Lagevrio) and novel antibiotics.Design
  12. 12NovartisGlobal leader in radioligand therapy with Lutathera and Pluvicto (Lu-177), produced by its Advanced Accelerator Applications unit across dedicated radiopharmaceutical plants.Design
All 203 in the Companies table →