E- MARKETPLACES IN THE BIOTECH INDUSTRY

Transcription

1 E- MARKETPLACES IN THE BIOTECH INDUSTRY By Jonas Bygdeson, Head of emarket Services Swedish Trade Council May 2004 Abstract The purpose of this report is to study how electronic marketplaces are used in the biotechnology industry. We focus the report on biotech companies in the areas of o Drug discovery & development, drug delivery o Diagnostics and medical technology o Biotechnology tools, supplies and services, bioproduction Biotech companies have suffered from the economic slowdown and the decrease in funding and market valuations since Despite the size of the industry, it has never been profitable. E-marketplaces do not play an important role in the biotech industry, But some of them are interesting additional channels. In particular small niche companies selling biotechnology tools and services can use American e-marketplaces like Biocompare and Bioresearch Online to get leads from around the world. Companies with drug discovery innovations rely on major conventions for partner opportunities. Since more participants now use online tools before and after conferences e-marketplaces like Biopartnering.com and Pharma-Transfer can become interesting additional channels. An e-marketplace like TechEx, is useful to find innovations from the academic research institutions. Suppliers to larger biotech and pharmaceutical companies need to have e-commerce capabilities and create electronic catalogues to sell to larger buyers. In some cases buyers force suppliers to take part in e-marketplaces, which they use to facilitate transactions with all their suppliers. Report by emarket Services Page 1 of 10

2 Background The purpose of this report is to study how electronic marketplaces are used in the biotechnology industry. One definition of biotech companies is provided by Ernst & Young, one of the consulting companies active in the industry: companies that use modern biological techniques to develop products or services for human health care or animal health care, agricultural productivity, food processing, renewable resources, industrial manufacturing, or environmental management. The term Life science includes a broader spectrum of companies, often including medical device, other pharmaceutical, environmental and agribusiness companies which are outside the above definition. By electronic marketplace we mean an internet based service which is: open to several buyers and several sellers has a focus on business to business or business to government a trading platform, where the e-marketplace itself does not sell nor buy goods or services traded on the platform has at least one trading function, like for example product/services listings with request for quote, catalogue with online order possibility, negotiation in an aucion format. Categories The biotech companies can largely be divided into the following main categories: 1. Drug discovery & development, drug delivery 2. Diagnostics and medical technology 3. Biotechnology tools, supplies and services, bioproduction 4. Agrobiotechnology 5. Environmental biotechnology 6. Functional food and feed In this report we focus on e-marketplaces in the first three categories. Category 2 and 3 are discussed under the heading Biotechnology Tools below. E-marketplaces used by companies in the areas 4-6 can be found on under industries like Agriculture, Environment and Food and Beverage. Biotech in figures Biotech companies have suffered from the economic slowdown and the decrease in funding and market valuations since Despite the size of the industry, it has never been profitable. According to Ernst & Young, the publicly traded companies had a net loss of more than $ 12 billion in The net loss was 116% larger in 2002 compared to 2001, while the revenues only increased by 15%. Nevertheless market capitalization, the total value of publicly traded biotech companies at market prices, was $206 billion as of mid-april The publicly traded companies in the US are dominated by some large companies such as Amgen and Genentech. Amgen alone had a market value of $ 61,5 billion in 2001, compared to all public European companies, valued at $ 51 billion in The most advanced biotech sector in Asia/Pacific is found in Australia. The market capitalization is, however limited, with 38 publicly traded companies in 2001, valued at $ 5 billion. The difference in market value between US and companies in other countries increased even further in The outlook is, however, positive and analysts estimate that the sector is at the beginning of a technology curve with terrific potential. Report by emarket Services Page 2 of 10

3 The biotechnology industry has increased substantially since 1992, with revenues increasing from $8 billion in 1992 to $34.8 billion in Public company Global US Europe Canada Asia/Pacific data 2002 Revenues ($m) R&D expense ($m) Net loss ($m) No of employees Public companies Private companies Source: Ernst & Young, Based on data from Jan 1, 2002, through December 31, NOTE: medical device, large pharmaceutical, and large agribusiness companies are not included in the figures in this definition of biotech industry, used by Ernst & Young. A study of 3000 US companies engaged in biotechnology-related activities, found that: In 2001 these companies had 1.1 million employees and net sales of $567 billion. Larger firms account for the majority of net sales and operating income. But 90% of surveyed companies had fewer than 500 employees. 58% had fewer than 50 employees. According to SciQuest, life science companies, including larger pharma companies, spent more than $50 billion on research and development in 2002, more than any other researchperforming industry. Yet only three out of every 10 marketed drugs produce revenues that match or exceed R&D costs. With the average drug discovery process ranging from 2-10 years and costing upwards of $800 million, research executives are looking to Innovation Supply Chain efficiencies to reduce costs and accelerate innovation. E-business solutions play an important role in this effort. Report by emarket Services Page 3 of 10

4 Drug discovery and drug delivery This sector is the largest sector within the biotech industry, both in terms of the number of companies and employees. Most pharmaceutical companies develop new drugs with biotechnological tools, and can thus be included in the biotech industry. Many of the drug discovery & development companies are spin-offs from large pharmaceutical companies. The biotech industry is to a large extent a network of allied speciality companies. Despite enormous investment in research and development, the huge global pharmaceutical companies depend on smaller biotech companies to supply innovations, which they can develop further and market as new drugs. The biotech companies try to identify new blockbuster drugs and take them through the early phases of clinical trials. Biotech companies also focus on smaller indication areas. The companies often work in close collaboration with universities and university hospitals. The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) gives the following information on innovations from this sector: More than 325 million people worldwide have been helped by the more than 155 biotechnology drugs and vaccines approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Of the biotech medicines on the market, 70 percent were approved in the last six years. There are more than 370 biotech drug products and vaccines currently in clinical trials targeting more than 200 diseases, including various cancers, Alzheimer's disease, heart disease, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, AIDS and arthritis The drug delivery area involves how the active substances in medicines can reach their targets in the body and how to get a satisfactory uptake in the body. This area of the biotech sector is changing toward a network of allied speciality companies. Small specialized companies seek partners in larger pharmaceutical companies to further develop their inventions. To them the most important channels to the market are a limited number of main conferences. These conventions offer an opportunity for pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, academic research institutions and investors from around the world to gather in one place at one time. They can meet one-on-one to learn and discuss business opportunities and partnerships where larger pharmaceutical companies can further develop the innovations from the biotech companies. The Bio Annual International Convention, this year June 6-9 in San Francisco, is one of the most important events. The American Biotechnology Industry Organization hosts it. The BIO Business Forum is a major component of the BIO 2004 Annual International Convention. There the participants can meet potential partners and discuss cooperation. Biosquare, this year held March th in Basel, is another important event. Over 1100 participants took part in over 3000 meetings to find partners for their research. BioPartnering Europe and BioPartnering North America are two other annual events. The participants on these conferences have been increasingly active in contacting each other on the website BioPartnering.com, which they have access to during a period of time before and after the conferences. Now the producer of the conferences will launch Biopartnering.com as an e-marketplace all year around, but still only for all the delegates who have taken part in one of their conferences. The live conferences are now labelled supporting conferences, suggesting that BioPartnering.com is expected to be a hub of their activity. Report by emarket Services Page 4 of 10

5 Electronic marketplaces for drug development and drug delivery BioPartnering.com - Available for participants in conferences like BioPartnering Europe and BioPartnering North America. Currently it is only active for a period of time before and after the conference. Since virtually all participants use the online tool and the traffic is increasing, the company behind the conferences plan to launch biopartnering.com as an all year round platform. Biotechnology products (in preclinical and clinical trials, and on the market) and research projects are posted by the biotech companies. 900 participants from 473 companies from 25 countries attended the BioPartnering North America conference in Feb 2004, an increase of 30% over last year. The number of users of biopartnering.com was 906, including registered delegates who never attended the conference. Based in California, USA Pharma-Transfer - Companies post research on new pharmacological compounds and enabling technologies available for licensing or partnering. From early stage pre-patented, preclinical and clinical research to finished products and enabling technologies. Over 200 pharma-biotech companies subscribing, including Bayer HealthCare's Pharma research division and Genentech. Based in the UK. CanBiotech - Companies inform about research and business services to the lifescience industry Sellers: Providers of biotechnology services (therapeutics biotechnology, and Agbiotechnology), Intellectual Property holders, and providers of medical devices and diagnostics. Buyers: Users of biotechnology services and medical devices. Used by companies like Affibody AB, Abbott Bioresearch Center, Inc, BASF Corporation, AMGEN Both companies with drug innovations seeking partnership with pharmaceutical companies and service providers with biotech services can use this site to get leads and matches. It is a global site, but most of the participating companies come from North America They have two more narrow focused daughter e-marketplaces: and Based in Canada TechEx - An exchange where licensing professionals from research institutions post licensing opportunities and innovations available for partnering. It is really government-to-business, since the postings come from the publicly funded research laboratories. Companies are welcome to post their innovations as well, but according to TechEx, they often are not as keen to reveal their innovations in this kind of forum. Users from around the world like: Harvard Medical School, Yale University, Chinese University of Hong Kong, ANUTECH Pty Ltd (Australia), Corporations: Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Acorn Technologies, Biovitrum new inventions posted per week, 400 research institutions Based in Florida, USA Report by emarket Services Page 5 of 10

6 Biotechnology Tools In this chapter we discuss how companies in diagnostics, bioproduction, medical technology, biotechnology tools, supplies and services use e-marketplaces. Companies in the diagnostics area work with tools and techniques for blood analysis and other diagnostics. Customers are in the healthcare-sector or perform clinical laboratory analysis. Other biotechnological companies in the area are involved in blood therapy, biomaterials for implants for aesthetic and medical use, products used in fertility treatment, nutrition solutions and plasma replacement. Examples of use from this sector according to BIO: Medical diagnostic tests that keep the blood supply safe from the AIDS virus and detect other conditions early enough to be successfully treated. Home pregnancy tests are also biotechnology diagnostic products. DNA fingerprinting, a biotech process, has dramatically improved criminal investigation and forensic medicine, as well as afforded significant advances in anthropology and wildlife management. Bioproduction companies produce biological molecules, microorganisms or cells. Biotechtools and supplies include equipment for fermentation, genomics, biomolecular separation and analysis come from this sector. Other companies develop and produce DNA sequencing instruments and microlaboratories. Several biotechnology companies in this area have developed equipment and techniques, which they sell as outsourced services to their customers. The customers are found in many of the other biotech sectors, food and pharmaceutical industries and research institutions. E-marketplaces in the sales and marketing process Sellers can primarily use e-marketplaces in this area to advertise their products and get interested buyers to ask for more information or a quote. The companies producing tools and providing services can in some cases even sell the products directly. The researchers can find products ranging from lab equipment and antibodies to various services, where the research laboratories can outsource different activities. Many sales managers in the industry seem to either know their clients well, if it is a welltargeted group of researchers who use their products. They primarily use traditional means of marketing to reach the audience. Some are aware of e-marketplaces which can generate new leads, but e-marketplaces do not seem to be important sources of new contacts. Some buyers in the US say that they use Thomas Register and a number of other sources to find new products, but they have not used e-marketplaces like Biocompare and BioSupplyNet to find products. In Sweden companies also use traditional means of marketing. In many cases the target group is well known to the area sales managers. We know our customers and do not use e- marketplaces to get leads to new customers says Jakob Lindmark, sales manager GE Healthcare Discovery products. Their customers are some 5000 researchers at biotech and pharmaceutical companies as well as universities. The leading e-marketplace in this area seems to be Biocompare. Important industry portals like BioSpace have a Buyers Guide, which is powered by Biocompare. Users in the US verify that Biocompare is the most well know site, but it does not seem to be a tremendous advantage as a lead generation tool. Nevertheless Biocompare now has a good model where you can list all of the products for a set price, and many companies seem to find participation worthwhile. In the US and in Europe it is clear that as a supplier you have to have e-commerce capabilities. Buyers state that it can determine if you get the contract or not. Report by emarket Services Page 6 of 10

7 In Sweden researchers place most of their orders electronically, when they purchase products for their laboratories. Purchases are done either directly from producer s websites or from distributors like BergmanLabora AB. There have been some initiatives in the US, where several large buyers use a common platform, but they seem to have failed. It has proven difficult for one single platform to have links to diverse business systems of different companies. In Europe, however, there are some e-marketplaces designed to make the purchase transactions efficient for large buyers on a common platform. They are either industry focused or used by companies in various industries. We use e-marketplaces to sell to some of our customers says Jakob Lindmark, sales manager GE Healthcare Discovery products. GE Healthcare has 5000 products from instruments to consumables. But they do not see large benefits on their part to use e- marketplaces. The large buyers ask their suppliers to take part in e-marketplaces, which facilitate transactions for the buyer. In Scandinavia GE Healthcare participate in IBX and Gatetrade. This does not create extra work for the seller, they have to have electronic catalogues and e-business capability anyway, but they are not enthusiastic about sharing the cost for making the buyer s order process more efficient. E-marketplaces for biotechnology tools cc-chemplorer - E-marketplaces for efficient transactions. Large buyers make their suppliers use the platform. The e-market focuses on the top 40 companies from the Chemical and Life Sciences industries in Germany and on the leading companies from these sectors in neighbouring Europe. Companies like Schering AG, Bayer, Henkel, BASF and Knaust take part. Non-strategic goods and services for the chemicals and life sciences industries including: additives and fuels, lab equipment, electronic materials, MRO products and services and construction projects. Based in Germany. The site works in English, German and French cc-chemplorer is cooperating with SESAMi, Asia's leading B2B platform operator, and is thus opening up the Asia Pacific region to customers from Europe together with SESAMi Biocompare paying companies listed Life-science products in areas such as Molecular Biology, Antibodies,, Bio Services, sirna Technology, Tissue Culture, Microarrays, Immunochemicals, Cell Biology, Protein Biochemistry, Lab Equipment, Lab Automation, Software Claim to have visitors/month. Visitors come from North America 59%, Europe 22%, Asia 10% Based in San Francisco, USA Large vendor center where suppliers can list their products. Suppliers can choose to have either a request for quote, where buyers send a request. If suppliers have an e- commerce solution on their own website they can have a Buy Now button linking from the product listing at Biocompare to the supplier s e-commerce solution. Report by emarket Services Page 7 of 10

8 Bioresearch Online suppliers listed, mainly US based companies. Most of them have free listing. Wide range of biotech tools, supplies and services such as: molecular biology, lab equipment, antibodies, immunochemicals, tissue culture, cell biology, software, protein biochemistry, bio services, lab automation. Had visitors/month Jan June 2003 Based in the US and has a focus on North America. Belong to the VertMarkets group of e-marketplaces. Sellers can list their products and pay for extra advertising and product showcases. Individual offer depending on company, but a showcase typically costs USD1250/month. Industry forum with market research reports, training network, job search etc. Drug Discovery Online suppliers listed, mainly from the US. Most of them have free listing. Products like Analytical Instruments, Biochemicals, Chromatography Bioreactors, Sequencers, Immunoreagents, Laboratory Materials and Accessories, Liquid Handling, Research Chemicals, Gases, Services like CDNA Cloning and DNA Sequencing, Protein Purification Services, Spectroscopy Based in the US and has a focus on North America. Belong to the VertMarkets group of e-marketplaces. Sellers can list their products and pay for extra advertising and product showcases Industry forum with market research reports, training network, job search etc. BioSupplyNet Directory of suppliers of products and services. Suppliers get listed both on the website and in the printed Source Book Mainly US, but some foreign companies listed. Basic listing is free, unlimited and enhanced listings are charged for. The website has more than visitors/month. Less well known in the industry LabX - Laboratory and scientific equipment, mainly used equipment Buyers and sellers can find an item, negotiate the terms and complete the purchase. The equipment is posted to be sold through an auction or with fixed prices. Sellers of new equipment can advertise their company and products. Based in the US. It is an active site with over 800 listings in a week. Judging from the auction listings, considerably less than announced 70% of the auction postings get sold on the site. Report by emarket Services Page 8 of 10

9 Conclusion and outlook Some electronic marketplaces provide matchmaking online, but they do not seem to play an important role so far. The partnering events at the major conferences are the most important marketing activities for sellers. But as the delegates get increasingly used to using the Internet sites of the conferences to connect before and after the events, new initiatives like BioPartnering.com suggest that it will become more important with matchmaking online. Some e-marketplaces where sellers of biotechnology tools can advertise their products have had difficulties, and several have changed ownership. Now they seem to have a reached a more stable situation with reasonably profitable business models. E-marketplaces like Biocompare and Bioresearch Online are interesting tools to generate leads for niche companies. Nevertheless, other traditional methods for marketing continue to be more important. We expect to see continued use of these e-marketplaces, but not a dramatic increase. Suppliers to larger biotech and pharmaceutical companies need to create electronic catalogues and have e-commerce capabilities to sell to larger suppliers. In some cases they need to take part in e-marketplaces used by the buyers to facilitate their transactions with all their suppliers. E-marketplaces like cc-chemplorer are important for suppliers to large companies in Europe. But with the difficulties of running a single platform solution, we do not expect an increase in the number of e-marketplaces in this area. Report by emarket Services Page 9 of 10

10 Sources Reports Beyond Borders, The Global Biotechnology Report, 2003, Ernst & Young. Swedish Biotechnology, VINNOVA Analysis VA 2003:2 A Survey of the Use of Biotechnology in US Industry. US Department of Commerce, October 2003 Websites the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). BIO represent more than 1,000 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, biotechnology centers and related organizations in all 50 U.S. states and 33 other nations. BIOCOM is a premiere life science industry association representing more than 450 member companies in Southern California. BiotechSweden, Swedish newspaper and website on the Swedish biotech industry. European Federation of Biotechnology. the independent, Europe-wide organisation for biotechnology. Presently 158 institutional members and more than 2500 personal members join the European Federation of Biotechnology SwedenBIO was founded in May 2002 by the CEOs of seven leading Swedish biotechnology companies. The objective of SwedenBIO is to improve the environment in Sweden for the biotechnology industry and build long-term sustainable companies. Interviews David Ernstsson, Project Manager, Swedish Bioscience Programme, Stockholm, Sweden Mats Berggren, Project Leader, SwedenBIO, Stockholm, Sweden Bengt Annell, Swedish Office of Science and Technology, Los Angeles, USA Clare Hobby, Swedish Trade Council, Los Angeles, USA Frounia Carroll, Director of Purchasing Group, BIOCOM, San Diego, USA Jakob Lindmark, Sales Manager, GE Healthcare Discovery products, Uppsala, Sweden Steven Reed, Sales Manager, ProSci Incorporated, San Diego, USA David Baker, Sales Manager, Affibody AB, Stockholm, Sweden. Brenda Uhlenhopp, General Manager, TechEx, UTEK Corporation, USA Teola Young, VP Sales and Business Development, Biocompare, USA Marci Siconolfi, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, BioSupplyNet, USA Scott Warofka, Account Manager VertMarkets Life Science Group,,USA Lyla Taylor, Client Manager, Technology Vision Group, USA Report by emarket Services Page 10 of 10