The contribution of microbial biotechnology to economic growth and employment creation

Our communication discusses the profound impact of bio-based economies – in particular microbial biotechnologies – on SDG 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. A bio-based economy provides significant potential for improving labour supply, education and investment, and thereby for substantially increasing the demographic dividend. This, in turn, improves the sustainable development of economies. In the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (see e.g. United Nations, 2015a,b), which places people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership at the centre of an action plan encapsulated in the Sustainable Development Goals, economic growth, enterprise creation and employment opportunities represent a key building block that is articulated in SDG 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. Traditional primary and secondary business sectors have contributed significantly to economic growth in particular in high- and middle-income countries; however, these sectors are primarily based on redistribution/transformation, i.e. mining, harvesting, refining, processing, utilizing and disposing of finite (e.g. ore, oil) or temporally limited (e.g. crops) resources. Even a purely anthropocentric view of the planet is constrained by the fact that it and its inhabitants are subject to basic ecological rules (the food/energy pyramid, functional changes in the planetary ecological network induce compensatory reactions elsewhere in the network, etc.), finite resources and ecological consequences of environmental abuse. Thus, the notion that perpetual economic growth of traditional business sectors is possible and sustainable is unrealistic. The central task is thus to focus strategic economic development investment in new business growth sectors that most effectively and sustainably inter alia increase productivity, streamline consumption and scale down waste, in order to create a healthy economic growth trajectory within the global context. This will necessitate implementation of strategic policies designed to drive development of innovative solutions, which efficiently maximize the utility of local and regional advantages, incentivize diversification, establish centres of excellence, foster transnational public and private partnerships, attract investment, etc., to sustainably increase domestic and international value and, in turn, grow economies. Here we (i) argue that biotechnology and, in particular, microbial biotechnology offer huge potential to sustainably drive enterprise, employment and expertise creation and (ii) provide some examples of challenges and solutions, that may guide policy makers in the formulation and implementation of relevant policies that will facilitate economic growth. Without doubt, one major factor requiring particular consideration in sustainable development strategies is the rate at which the global community has been growing and is projected to grow in the foreseeable future. The dramatic growth rates witnessed since the middle of the 20th century, most prominently in developing regions, are inter alia due to significantly improved public health measures, in particular measures to prevent infectious diseases and reduce malnutrition, which predominantly affect children. Such measures have achieved substantial reductions in infant mortality and increases in life expectancy, improved overall health and resulted in important shifts in age distributions in low- and middle-income countries (lower average ages): the demographic transition. As the risk of infant mortality declines, parents tend to have fewer children; as urbanization, vocational prospects and salaries increase, the demand for a more highly skilled workforce grows, and the relative benefit of basic skills, such as farming, declines; as, in turn, employment prospects and return on investment in higher skills improve, parents tend to invest more in the education of their offspring to improve their chances in the labour market. This leads to successive generations of increasingly highly trained individuals which, over time, substantially increase the proportion of economically active individuals in a population and, in turn, significantly improve the potential for economic growth and development: the demographic dividend. However, exploitation of this economic growth potential is highly dependent on utilization of a window of opportunity (circa one century) and, importantly, a favourable and responsive policy environment, principally regarding the adequate support of the new labour supply and the increases in savings and human capital (see e.g. Bloom et al., 2003; Bloom, 2015). Maximizing the potential of this new labour supply, and thereby exploiting the momentum to grow the economy, requires policies that focus on sustainably ensuring adequate job opportunities for the growing and increasingly skilled workforce. Due to increased productivity and hence earnings by public and private organizations, and individual households, capital savings (pensions, tax revenues, private equity, etc.) become available. Policies need to adequately regulate and increase trust in capital markets, and incentivize national and international trade, and, importantly, diversified individual and aggregate domestic (and foreign direct) investment, in particular in growth sectors and research and development. Improvements in education and health, which are mutually re-enforcing and offer substantial return on investment for individuals and society as a whole, are central for economic growth. Therefore, policies should focus on creating and appropriately fostering an environment to sustainably increase social and human capital with a view to consolidating current, and paving the way for improved, economic growth trajectories (see e.g. Bloom et al., 2003; McTaggart et al., 2012). In addition, during transition from low- to middle- to high-income settings, policy makers must be aware of and responsive to the changing determinants of economic growth pertinent to their setting (e.g. workforce specialization) and adapt policies accordingly to most effectively sustain growth momentum and avoid productivity stagnation, sometimes also referred to as the ‘low-growth trap’ (see e.g. Agénor and Canuto, 2015; Bulman et al., 2017; Engel and Taglioni, 2017). As alluded to above, the creation of new employment opportunities is dependent on a number of parameters, such as demand, capital expenditure, distribution of the rents of productivity growth (UNCTAD, 2012), but balanced growth of existing commercial enterprises, for example through establishment of interconnected (specialized) local/regional R&D hubs (see e.g. Frost and Sullivan, 2011; Damond, 2014), and, importantly, the creation of innovative new businesses, are fundamental. Numerous individuals and organizations have emphasized the economic potential of knowledge-based business sectors, and the need to invest in and nurture them, and in the infrastructure needed for them to thrive. The bio-based economy is one of the key sectors in this category, able to profit from the accelerating rate of new discoveries and technical developments. It is also one of the most investment- and human capital-intensive, fastest growing, lucrative and flexible (e.g. scalable) innovation sectors. Globally, the bio-based economy is projected to grow by at least 50% by 2030 (Bio, 2017). Whilst addressing local and regional challenges with biotech innovation, the bio-based economy in low- and middle-income countries can take advantage of the international pull effects for new solutions and thus emerging R&D opportunities. Currently, biotechnology is also one of the key drivers for medical innovation. Biosimilars, for example, represent one highly relevant area within the future biotech landscape (IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, 2016), as payer organizations in many healthcare systems, especially in high-income countries, are seeking a broader array of, and less costly and more effective treatment alternatives. Provided adequate regulatory and quality measures are in place, public innovation funds are made available, and incentives for domestic and foreign direct investment are introduced, biotechnology will be an ideal and synergetic driver of the demographic dividend in a variety of settings, by offering opportunities to a growing and more highly skilled workforce, and increasing investment opportunities and human capital. It is ideally suited not only for R&D of new and more efficient products, processes and services, but also for diversification, that increase productivity and scale down waste: less space, less matter, less waste, for more. Microbial biotechnology is both one of the oldest technologies (fermentation history is as old as civilization) and one of the newest and most rapidly growing industries (the highest number of start-ups, globally, are microbiome-based biotechnology companies). The field has thus a long pedigree of experience and experimentation and is currently enjoying an exceptionally exciting period of continuous discoveries. Applications that resulted from or are now emerging out of advances in microbial biotechnology research are manifold and exceptionally diverse and include: diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, immune prophylactics, microbial therapies, fermented foods, food supplements, plant growth promotion and protection agents, biocatalysis and green chemistry, chemical feedstocks, biopolymers and biomaterials, biosurfactants and emulsifiers, compatible solutes and bioprotectants, fermentation, bioenergy from renewable feedstocks, fossil fuel recovery and valorization, bioelectricity, clean water provision, recycling technologies, wastewater treatment, bioremediation, biomining, metal and nutrient recovery, carbon capture, self-healing concrete, protection of cultural goods. The diversity of applications is on the same scale as that enjoyed by chemistry and chemicals. And, importantly, the range of diversity of applications is expanding weekly, witness the explosion of new applications in the field of microbiome technology. This means that the range of possibilities for specialization and niche products from microbial biotechnology is exceptionally wide and can thus aliment many large, medium and small enterprises with profitable business opportunities (see also SDG 8.2 Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labour-intensive sectors; see e.g. United Nations, 2015a,b). Application diversity potential does not, of course, automatically translate into commercial activities, business expansion or growth in employment: the potential has to be mined, concretized, developed, refined and marketed, all of which require talented innovators working in a favourable environment. Innovation and entrepreneurial approaches are key in unlocking new products, processes and services, gaining market access, and successful commercialisation. There are a number of parameters that can be taken into consideration for assessing the innovation level of a particular sector, including the annual number of patent applications/research papers published/scientific meetings, the rate of creation of new dedicated university departments, rate of creation of start-ups, and by all these parameters, biotechnology is seen to be highly innovative. For a current snapshot of innovations in diverse sectors of microbial biotechnology, the reader is directed to the contributions published in this issue, particularly those by (Alvarez and Fernandez, 2017; Caselli, 2017; Cordero et al., 2017; Dürre, 2017; Felgner et al., 2017; Garcia, 2017; Godoy et al., 2017; Gurry, 2017; Lee, 2017; Li and Gadd, 2017; de Lorenzo, 2017; Macaskie and Orozco, 2017; Narancic and O'Connor, 2017; Nealson, 2017; Ramos, 2017; Schmidt-Dannert, 2017; Sherry et al., 2017; Trivedi et al., 2017; Verstraete and Devrieze, 2017; Webster, 2017) – see also SDG 8.3 Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services (see e.g. United Nations, 2015a,b). While the long-term success of an organization is determined by a number of indicators, originality and innovation are undoubtedly paramount, both for its successful evolution and for funder/customer perception of its quality and potential. Innovation itself is influenced by a number of factors, particularly the availability, density and diversity of innovators, newest information and ideas, the prevailing degree of ‘innovation culture’ and the influence of innovation facilitators, such as administrators and managers – gatekeepers – who decide on the further development of discoveries/advances. Innovation is often taken for granted/discussed as though it were a commodity – a parameter among many to be managed – but true innovators, like the best artists, surgeons, violinists, managers, politicians, are a rare species and require explicit support, which is frequently a necessary degree of ‘guided’ freedom, in order to flourish. Productive, synergistic innovator:gatekeeper partnerships are crucial, so gatekeepers need to be involved at an early stage in development of innovative ideas in order to provide the support needed for further development and commercialization. While many biotechnology products and processes are inherently high value, others (particularly those that improve the quality of degraded environments, such as bioremediation and biomining) tend to be perceived as low value, often uncompetitive with existing feedstocks and technologies (frequently due to an unfavourable regulatory framework), and hence less attractive for development and investment. However, the recognition of the benefits of such products and processes, and hence their competitiveness, is fundamentally changing with integration of sustainability principles into economic analyses, their consideration not as stand-alone but rather as components in cyclical processes and as participating elements in global issues (e.g. carbon footprints, energy vs. food, travel/food distribution and disease transmission control, food costs/food security/producer poverty, energy sourcing/energy security/political independence, land use and biodiversity; see the SDG texts in United Nations, 2015a,b), and resulting changes in the regulatory landscape. Thus, some currently low value and/or poorly competitive microbial technologies will in the future gain importance and attract investment as a result of changing perceptions, policies, regulatory frameworks and increasing benefit. For some time now, there has been a continual acceleration in the speed of data collection and the volumes collected (in the biotechnology sphere e.g. via next-generation sequencing, high-throughput assays). Artificial intelligence1 (AI) will become the primary means of handling and analysing these vast amounts of data, and thus a major driver of new discoveries across diverse scientific disciplines and industries. AI's continuously evolving sophistication, and thus ability to rapidly detect and ‘learn’ from patterns in vast data sets (numeric parameters, images, videos, etc., and, if appropriately equipped with sensory hardware, observe, probe and examine living beings and other phenomena), will revolutionize the efficiency, i.e. speed, accuracy and breadth, of data analysis. AI will be able to identify or predict previously unknown relationships of correlation, correlation direction, causality, etc. (see e.g. Shanahan, 2015), and costs for input, pattern detection and prediction tasks will drop significantly. It has therefore been suggested that the current modus operandi of research and development in public and private organizations will change dramatically. Roles for employees by these changes will increasingly and of the and suggested by and AI et al., A central for these new of will be to adequately and the parameters, etc., i.e. data to which have and in which the have become increasingly etc.), in order to the of (see e.g. of and et al., et al., et al., 2017). 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