Uncovering unmet needs in biocatalysis and IVD

The brief

• Assess the market for general biocatalysis and recombinant enzymes across biopharma, IVD, and industry.
• Map high-growth applications, customers, and innovation trends from patent analysis.
• Benchmark leading enzyme suppliers and emerging players on capability and perception.
• Identify the properties, pain points, and unmet needs shaping adoption over 3-5 years.

The problem

No clear long-term view of where general biocatalysis and recombinant enzymes were heading, or where to play beyond ATP regeneration

Our approach

A two-phase programme combining secondary market and patent analysis with 15 in-depth customer interviews globally

• Ran a two-phase programme: 5 interviews in Phase 1, then 10 targeted at IVD and APAC gaps.
• Spoke with 15 customers across biopharma, IVD, CDMOs, and small molecule manufacturers.
• Profiled enzyme suppliers, life science platforms, CDMOs, and regional players.
• Mapped enzyme use across workflows and scored unmet needs by severity.

Key outcomes

A prioritised view of high-growth applications, competitor benchmarks, and severity-ranked unmet needs to anchor the enzyme strategy

• Identified the enzyme classes driving demand and the applications with the strongest growth potential.
• Benchmarked major suppliers on capability, service, and customer satisfaction, exposing clear responsiveness and customisation gaps.
• Ranked unmet needs across discovery, process development, and scale-up by severity.
• Translated the findings into where to play and how to differentiate in the enzyme space.