Synthetic biology, which designs biological components and systems in new ways, is expected to play a key role in the smart therapeutics industry, a report said.

Unlike genetic modification technologies that change existing biological systems, synthetic biology’s new designing of biological systems will apply to various industries, the report by the Biotech Policy Research Center (BPRC) said.

The growth of smart therapeutics, which includes new drug development and artificial organs transplants, will be most prominent among application industries, the report said.

According to Frost & Sullivan, a U.S. market researcher, the global synthetic biology market is projected to expand at an annual growth rate of 18.7 percent from $3.57 billion (3.9 trillion won) in 2017 to $10.5 billion in 2023.

By application industry, smart therapeutics will see the most significant revenue growth from 34 percent in 2017 to 40 percent in 2023, with an average annual growth rate of 23.1 percent, the report said.

The second-most promising was the renewable energy with an average annual growth rate predicted at 20.3 percent, followed by agriculture with 17.1 percent, and environment with 15.4 percent.

“The synthetic biology market is expanding applications in many industries including pharmaceuticals, health management, food and drink, functional foods, and biofuels,” the BPRC said in the report, titled “Global Synthetic Biology Market Status and Outlook,” on Tuesday.

Drivers of the growth of the synthetic biology market include a significant reduction in the cost for DNA sequencing analysis/synthesis and the advent of sophisticated tools for genome editing such as CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) gene-editing scissors, the report said.

On the other hand, strict regulations on genetic modification and ethical debates are impediments to the growth of the synthetic biology market, it added.

Still, advanced technologies, including gene editing, big data analysis, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, will offer growth opportunities for the synthetic biology sector, the report said.

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