This scientific expertise continues to extend into new areas in which New Zealand has similar competitive advantages. These areas include clean technology, natural products, bioactive substances, functional foods, and nutraceuticals.
New Zealand’s international successes in this area include:
- drug discovery for asthma, diabetes and cancer treatments
- developing products to prevent facial eczema, control internal parasites and improve fertility in animals
- discovering genes to promote favourable consumer traits such as improved taste, health, and colour of fruits.
Research completed in 2008 shows that the bioactives industry alone (including nutraceuticals, supplements and functional foods) has annual revenues of $760m, while the medical-technologies industry generates $550m annually. Separate analysis shows that for every full-time job in New Zealand’s wider biotechnology industry, a further 2.41 jobs are created nationally.
The global bioeconomy opportunity
The bioeconomy refers to all economic activity derived from the commercial application of biological research.
As the world’s population grows, the bioeconomy is becoming more prominent as life sciences such as biotechnology provide solutions for a range of challenges associated with this growth.
According to the Organisation of Economic of Co-operation and Development, for example, health applications dominate biotechnology research and development spending worldwide, followed by agricultural applications and industrial-environment applications.
How NZTE can help life science businesses
New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) employs staff with commercial science expertise in strategic locations around the world. Much of our work is focused on projects and trade events in North and South America, Europe, and Australia.
NZTE works with the industry to build the capability of biotechnology and agriculture technology businesses. It assists them to identify new opportunities for growth internationally and helps to promote the industry’s strengths globally.
NZTE also administers the Australia New Zealand Biotechnology Partnership Fund (ANZBPF), which helps New Zealand companies build their business development and collaborative skills, and to develop partnerships with Australian researchers and businesses.
To find out more about NZTE’s work in the biotechnology and agriculture technology industries, or to talk with an NZTE representative about participating in initiatives in the food and beverage industry:
More general information about New Zealand’s various life sciences industries can be found via industry bodies that work with NZTE.
