From cells to sales: Advancing the commercialization of industrial biotech innovations

Industrial biotechnology faces a paradox: Technological breakthroughs in synthetic biology, protein engineering and AI-supported process modelling are opening up real prospects for a bio-based chemical industry. Yet the gap between scientific potential and commercial viability remains wide and is rarely closed by technology alone. This study analyzes how promising biotech ventures successfully cross the threshold to commercialization. Based on interviews (n = 12) with experienced biotechnology investors, fund managers and founders in 2025 and 2026, as well as real-life case studies from the past, six key areas are identified and evaluated: product and market selection, technology development, collaborations and partnerships, team structure, IP management and financing strategy. The analysis shows that ventures fail not only due to sidelining well-known basic principles such as "market first, technology second". Experienced investors and founders identified some equally critical shortcomings, such as ill-defined, misaligned milestones or a deterrent cap table (ownership plan) design. Furthermore, commercially critical decisions must be made as early as possible. For example, production organism design and feedstock strategy must consider constraints of real processes, product and target market must be selected carefully based on margins and competitiveness, and an appropriately broad IP portfolio should be in place before the first partnership discussion. The ten specific recommendations derived from the study's findings are primarily aimed at founders and research institutions.