The world market for enzymes will grow 7.6 percent per year to $6 billion in 2011, driven by continued robust growth in pharmaceutical enzyme demand, double-digit increases in demand for biocatalysts for pharmaceutical and other fine chemical production, and the rapid expansion in bioethanol production from grains. As a result, carbohydrases will experience the greatest gains, with lipases growing the fastest due to their use in biocatalysts and food and beverage processing. These and other trends are presented in World Enzymes, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry research firm.

Despite recent uncertainty in the important US market, world pharmaceutical enzyme demand will experience rapid advances going forward. As was the case over the past decade, the primary growth drivers will be rapid gains in both botulinum toxin-based neuromodulator and enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) drugs, which will offset slower growth in digestive enzymes and thrombolytics.

US concern about that country s dependence on foreign oil will lead to extraordinary increases in federally mandated use of grain-based ethanol in the gasoline pool, which will in turn drive enzyme demand. Outside of North America, global warming concerns will play a greater role in boosting grain-based ethanol production in Europe and parts of the Asia/Pacific. However, despite significant investments in research and development, biomass-based ethanol production will not meaningfully contribute to enzyme demand until the longer term.

Growing market maturity in North America and Europe, as well as potentially devastating avian and pork diseases in the Asia/Pacific region, will moderate advances in animal feed enzyme demand to near the global enzyme demand average. Similarly, food and beverage enzyme demand will also moderate to near the global average, though new applications and rapid expansion in the Asia/Pacific region will ensure growth remains strong. On a regional basis the fastest growth will be in the Asia/Pacific and other developing regions as rising per capita incomes lead to more intensive use of enzymes, with North America and Western Europe trailing behind.