Marine biotechnology research - a major innovation asset

A survey of articles published in the field of marine biotechnology over the past 20 years shows that the research field grew strongly in the early 2000s and that the University of Gothenburg is a leader among Swedish universities.

Marine biotechnology is an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary field of research, where results can be applied in areas as diverse as medicine, food, fuels and climate action.

- "Research in marine biotechnology reflects the major societal trends, from searching for lipids and oils to make biodiesel, to investigating active molecules for, for example, medicine and biological anti-fouling, to the fact that there is now a major focus on DNA sequencing to track organisms in the marine environment," says Mattias Berglin, researcher at RISE.

China and the US the largest

In the bibliometric study, conducted by Bo Jarneving at the University of Gothenburg on behalf of the Maritime Cluster and the Collaborative Platform for Biomedical Industries, published work in marine biotechnology between the years 2001-2020 has been inventoried and analyzed. The results show that Sweden is at an average level in terms of activity in the research field in Europe, while in our vicinity it is mainly Iceland and Norway that invest a lot in relation to other research. In absolute terms, large research countries such as the USA and China have by far the most activity globally.

- China is using its research much more to commercialize and create value from research, including in antifouling and aquaculture. "They had 30,000 patents directly linked to marine biotechnology, compared to between five and ten in Sweden. "We don't know if all patents can be commercialized, but still," says Mattias Berglin.

Potential for social benefit

Sweden is well placed to develop both research and innovation in this area. We have a long coastline and a unique marine environment, which means we have the potential to conduct research that is not available elsewhere. Secondly, there is stable research in marine biotechnology, particularly at the Universities of Gothenburg and Uppsala (the two leading universities according to the report). Most Swedish research is currently conducted in collaboration at an international level, and cooperation between Swedish academic institutions and Swedish industry has the potential to grow.

- Research can help create societal benefits. The report shows that there is definitely innovation capital that can be developed," says Anders Blomberg, researcher at the University of Gothenburg.

- There are so many good ideas, but we also need to make sure they lead to good products," says Mattias Berglin.

Good quality research

The bibliometric survey has been made possible with funds from the project "Collaborative Platform for Biomedical Industries" and the long-term plan is to follow the development also in the future.

- With the survey, we can show that there is a lot of exciting research being published and that it has a quality that must be taken seriously. In the future, we also want to include patent databases in our surveys, because it is important that the results are translated and utilized in society," says Anders Blomberg.