Danish biotech Biosyntia has signed a contract with Germany’s Wacker Group to develop a large-scale production process for fermentation-based biotin based on Biosyntia’s technology
The two companies aim for the material to be available “for the full range of relevant applications as a sustainable, non-chemical, European-sourced alternative”. It is currently only produced synthetically from petrochemicals.
Also known as vitamin B7, biotin is a coenzyme for the metabolism of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Personal care is among its uses, though the largest is food and beverages. It also finds applications in infant nutrition, nutraceuticals, pet food, animal feed and pharmaceuticals. The market has reportedly been growing at 10% year and is expected to reach $376 million in 2026.
Biosyntia has a proprietary microbial technology platform, on which it is building a rapidly growing pipeline of active ingredients for the beauty and nutrition industries. Wacker, meanwhile, brings expertise in biotechnological process development and industrial-scale fermentation, which it already uses to produce L-cysteine.
