By Agroempresario.com

Investment in Asia's biotechnology sector has experienced an impressive boom in the last three years, reaching almost 3.5 billion dollars, representing an increase of 140% compared to the previous period. This growth has been fundamentally driven by government support policies in key countries such as China and India, which have adopted specific strategies to encourage the development of biotechnology in various areas, such as agriculture, bioenergy and biomaterials.

In China, biotechnology has been a priority in the last two Five-Year Plans, in particular in the 13th (2016-2020), where the country established a roadmap to develop a solid infrastructure and technological capabilities in biotechnology. The 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) has further accelerated this momentum, with measures and targets that seek to make the country a global leader in biotechnology innovation.

For its part, India has made significant progress with the implementation of the BioE3 policy, which has increased the size of its bioeconomy by more than tenfold. This policy aims to reach $300 billion by 2030, positioning the country as a major player in the biotechnology space.

In 2024, the most funded areas were agricultural biotechnology and bioenergy and biomaterials, with a total of $935 million raised in 87 deals. Although global biotechnology funding has fallen by 24% compared to the previous year, the number of deals has grown, indicating greater activity in the sector, albeit in smaller rounds. According to AgFunder’s report, seed and Series A funding rounds accounted for 68% of deal activity in Asia-Pacific.

Mark Kahn, managing partner at Omnivore, an agri-food technology venture capital firm, noted: “Now, with accelerating climate challenges and a global shift towards decarbonisation, venture capital is recognising these domains as strategic investments that can simultaneously address food security, energy transition and climate resilience.”

The sector remains volatile, with China dominating agricultural biotechnology, and India emerging as a leader in bioenergy and biomaterials, with 128% growth in funding in this sector compared to the previous year.

Investment in Japan has also seen significant growth in 2024, with a 238% increase in funding for bioenergy and biomaterials, and an impressive 1754% in agricultural biotechnology.

Despite a decline in global funding, Asia remains a key epicentre of biotech innovation, with a promising future thanks to continued government support and growing investor interest in sustainable solutions to global challenges.