Small scale bioreactors market

Bioreactors are bioprocessing devices that are used for biochemical processing that involves biological active substances and micro-organisms. This bioprocessing can be aerobic or anaerobic. The various type of bioreactors are designed as cylindrical structures and come in different sizes and capacities with various materials such as glass bioreactors, carbon steel, stainless steel bioreactors, ceramic bioreactors, and Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) plastic. Bioreactors can be used in vaccine production for static culture or roller bottle technology. During the production process, bioreactors provide sterile gas such as oxygen and carbon dioxide into the culture medium. The constant stirring distributes the nutrients and reduces the size of gas bubbles that arise due to the sterile gas supply in the culture vessel, thus releasing oxygen into the nutrient solution. The pharmaceutical industry’s increased efforts to create vaccines or medications is expected to drive the growth of the market. For instance, according to the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), between April 2020 and June 2021, the foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Indian pharmaceutical industry totaled at US$ 18.12 billion.

Global Small Scale Bioreactor Market - Impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to drive the growth of the small scale bioreactors market over the forecast period, owing to increasing activities among market players for use of bioreactors for vaccine production. For instance, in November 2020, AstraZeneca, a multinational biopharmaceutical company, signed an agreement with the Australian government and a biotech firm CSL, which is located in Australia, to begin production of the COVID-19 vaccine candidate in Australia developed by the University of Oxford for nation wise distribution in the first half of 2021. According to reports, production began at CSL's bioreactor facility in Victoria, Australia with the creation of vials containing COVID-19 vaccine cells frozen in liquid nitrogen.

Increasing awareness about technological aspects of bioreactors by institutes and organizations is expected to increase the growth of the small scale bioreactors market over the forecast period. For instance, on October 25, 2021, the researchers at the Department of Biotechnology from National Institute of Technology, Andhra Pradesh conducted a training program for Bioremediation by photo and electrochemical bioreactors where they explained about designing and modeling of bioreactors, production of platform chemicals through biochemical and chemical route and Bio-hydrogen production.

The global small scale bioreactors market is estimated to be valued at US$ 1,233.5 Mn in 2021 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 10.6 % over the forecast period (2021-2028).  

Figure 1: Global Small Scale Bioreactor Market Share, (%), Analysis, By Product Type, 2021

Increasing research and development activities by the market players for developing the bioreactors is expected to drive the growth of the global small scale bioreactors market over the forecast period.

Market players are involved in research and development activities for developing the bioreactors. This is expected to increase the growth of the market over the forecast period. For instance, according to the article published in the journal Plos One by the researchers of Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences, U.S., in June 2021, a study was conducted to investigate a scaled model of the Express bioreactor developed by Sepragen Corporation, a supplier of equipment’s and chromatography application to biotechnology industry. This study was done to find out how this bioreactor system would work with shear sensitive human Mesenchymal Stem Cells (hMSCs). The results of the study showed that the cells showed excellent expression of stem cell biomarkers. hMSC also retained the ability to differentiate into bone, cartilage, and adipocytes. Therefore, hMSC demonstrates the effectiveness of bioreactor systems with floating matrices for the production of high-purity hMSCs.

Market players are indulged in inorganic activities such as collaborations, agreements, and partnerships due to increasing use of single use bioreactors. This is expected to increase the growth of the global small scale bioreactors market over the forecast period.

Increasing use of single use bioreactors is expected to increase the growth of the small scale bioreactors market over the forecast period. For instance, in October 2021, 3M Separation and Purification Sciences which provides filtration and purification for water solutions , has  announced a global agreement with Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. an supplier of scientific instruments , reagents and software supplies that will make it easier for biopharmaceutical customers to pair the 3M Harvest RC Chromatographic Clarifier, a single-stage purification solution, with the Thermo Scientific’s HyPerforma single-use bioreactor. This combination is to bring greater efficiency and scalability to the therapeutic manufacturing process.

 Global Small Scale Bioreactor Market – Restraints

The constraints and challenges for bioreactors during biological processing may hamper the growth of the small scale bioreactors market over the forecast period. For instance, the current tendency in biopharmaceutical manufacturing to create a tailored plant to the specific bioprocessing requirements of a given molecule, there are processing restrictions, such as non-customizable bioreactors. Molecules, on the other hand, do not behave the same way during the development, scale-up, and manufacturing phases. Customizing single use bioreactors to process specific molecules negates bioreactor’s main advantage of automatic configuration and Disposal Single use bioreactors are frequently made from plastic derivatives such as Appliflex ST which is fully customized bioreactor designed for specific bioprocessing needs by Applikon biotechnology In addition to concerns about potential leachable and extractable materials, the large-scale disposal of such plastic reactors on a regular basis is an environmental concern.

Global Small Scale Bioreactor Market – Regional Analysis

On the basis of region, the global small scale bioreactors market is segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa.

North America is expected to exhibit significant growth in the small scale bioreactors market, owing to the presence of market players in the region. For instance, in July 15, 2021, H.E.L Group (H.E.L), which is an developer and manufacturer of  tools used in laboratory for processing optimization, scale up and safety, has announced that company had expanded their operations such as encompass sales, instrument service and technical and field application support in regions of North America ,by opening a West Coast hub in California and a Central Region hub in Missouri.

Furthermore, the increasing launches of products in the region is expected to drive the Europe small scale bioreactors market growth during the forecast period. For instance, in March 2020, REPROCELL Europe Ltd., engaged in the development of stem cell technologies, announced the launch of ABLE Biot single-use bioreactors series for stem cell culture in Germany, France, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, The Netherlands, Scotland, England, Ireland, Wales, and Norway. This device has magnetic stir and disposable system which provides uniform agitation culture environment for cultivation of stem cells.

Figure 2: Global Small Scale Bioreactor Market (US$ Mn), by Region, 2021

Global Small Scale Bioreactor Market – Competitive Landscape

Major players operating in the global small scale bioreactor market include Merck KGaA, Danaher Corporation, Getinge AB, Sartorius AG,Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Lonza Group, Eppendorf AG, Miltenyi Biotec, Solaris Biotechnology Srl, Infors AG, Biosan, MicroDigital Co., Ltd., 2mag AG, MDX Biotechnik International GmbH, Esco Lifesciences Group, HiTec Zang GmbH, Hanil Scientific Inc., Adolf Kühner AG, Ori Biotech, Aglaris, AdvaBio