Cover of higher education & research in France, facts and figures

📄 Source:MENESR-DGESIP/DGRI-SIES.

 Coverage:Whole of France.

The data presented here are taken from the annual survey of 11,000 firms on resources devoted to R&D. Since 2000, this survey has asked firms what proportion (%) of their intramural R&D expenditure they devote to biotechnology.

A research branch is a branch of economic activity that benefits from R&D. 32 categories are described here, based on the second version of the French classification of activities (NAF).

The ‘Professional, scientific and technical activities’ research branch primarily covers R&D activities, as well as engineering services.

A field of research is a multidisciplinary area of R&D that may be carried out in several different research branches. The R&D carried out by a particular firm may fall within several fields of research. The intramural R&D expenditure incurred by that firm is therefore assigned to the field of research in question, according to the percentage of expenditure declared by firms for each field.

The field studied here is biotechnology.

Active biotechnology firms are those that devote a proportion of their intramural R&D expenditure to biotechnology research.

Dedicated biotechnology firms are those that devote at least 75% of their R&D expenditure to biotechnology research.

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41 business R&D in biotechnology

Intramural business enterprise expenditure on R&D (BERD) in the field of biotechnology totalled €3.0 billion in 2014, accounting for around 10% of BERD. The proportion of firms active in this field of research has remained stable compared to 2013, at 11%. Firms that specialise in biotechnology are mostly small enterprises.

In 2014 (semi-finalised data), business enterprises spent a total of €3.0 billion on R&D in biotechnology (stable over the last year). 10% of business intramural expenditure on R&D (BERD) was dedicated to biotechnology (table 41.01). In terms of the number of businesses, 11% of all companies carrying out R&D in France were involved in this field (chart 41.02).

The overall BERD of the businesses concerned was €5.5 billion: intramural expenditure on the 'biotechnology' field therefore corresponds to around 56% of their total BERD.

More than three out of five of active biotechnology firms are called dedicated, i.e. they devote at least 75% of their intramural expenditure on R&D to it. Dedicated biotechnology firms spent nine-tenths of all expenditure in biotechnology within France, representing a total of €2.7 billion in investment.

R&D in biotechnology is carried out by small companies (chart 41.03): 56% of active biotechnology firms and 62% of dedicated biotechnology companies in this field employed fewer than 20 people in 2014. By comparison, only one business in two active in R&D employed fewer than 20 people. The proportion of small businesses is even more marked in other countries. In Spain, 87% of of active biotechnology firms have fewer than 50 employees. In the United Kingdom or Germany, 84% and 71% respectively (2015 data) of active biotechnology firms have fewer than 50 employees (compared to 70% in France, in 2014). The proportion is a little lower in the United States (69%) and South Korea (60%).

By contrast, there are relatively few large structures among dedicated biotechnology companies. Only 6% have at least 250 employees, compared to 10% of companies active in this field and all companies active in R&D. Dedicated companies have an average of 87 employees, compared to 306 for active biotechnology firms and 240 for businesses active in R&D (table 41.01).

The ‘Manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations’ remained the main research branch investing in this field in 2014, accounting for 63% of R&D expenditure in biotechnology (chart 41.04), although only 10% of businesses were active in this field. Together with ‘Professional, scientific and technical activities’, these two branches accounted for more than three quarters of all R&D expenditure allocated to the ‘biotechnology’ field. Although the latter group accounted for much less expenditure, it did include a higher proportion of active firms (46% in 2014). The chemical industry still occupied third place in the proportion of expenditure targeted at biotechnology (7%).

 Coverage:Whole of France.

How to cite this paper :

MONTENACHE Stéphane. Business R&D in biotechnology. In: Higher education & research in France, facts and figures - 49 indicators [online]. KABLA-LANGLOIS Isabelle (dir.). Paris: Ministère de l'Éducation nationale, de l'Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche, 2017. 10th ed. Chapter 41 [Accessed 03/29/2024]. ISBN 978-2-11-152033-2. https://publication.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/eesr/10EN/EESR10EN_R_41-business_r_d_in_biotechnology-ILL_04.php

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The data presented here are taken from the annual survey of 11,000 firms on resources devoted to R&D. Since 2000, this survey has asked firms what proportion (%) of their intramural R&D expenditure they devote to biotechnology.

A research branch is a branch of economic activity that benefits from R&D. 32 categories are described here, based on the second version of the French classification of activities (NAF).

The ‘Professional, scientific and technical activities’ research branch primarily covers R&D activities, as well as engineering services.

A field of research is a multidisciplinary area of R&D that may be carried out in several different research branches. The R&D carried out by a particular firm may fall within several fields of research. The intramural R&D expenditure incurred by that firm is therefore assigned to the field of research in question, according to the percentage of expenditure declared by firms for each field.

The field studied here is biotechnology.

Active biotechnology firms are those that devote a proportion of their intramural R&D expenditure to biotechnology research.

Dedicated biotechnology firms are those that devote at least 75% of their R&D expenditure to biotechnology research.

 

Key figures


Share of business enterprises working in biotechnology
10.7%
 
2014
Whole of France
 
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Extract from the chapter "41. business R&D in biotechnology".

Coverage: as a % of firms active in R&D
Source: MENESR-DGESIP/DGRI-SIES
Gross domestic expenditure on R&D in biotechnology
3 bn
 
2014
Whole of France
 
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Extract from the chapter "41. business R&D in biotechnology".

Source: MENESR-DGESIP/DGRI-SIES
Share of business enterprises specialising in biotechnology
6.7%
 
2014
Whole of France
 
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Extract from the chapter "41. business R&D in biotechnology".

Coverage: as a % of firms active in R&D
Source: MENESR-DGESIP/DGRI-SIES

41.01 Data on business R&D in biotechnology in 2014

 
Firms carrying out R&D in-house
All firms Active biotechnology firms Dedicated biotechnology firms
% of all firms carrying out R&D (number of firms) 100 10.7 6.7
% of all firms carrying out R&D (number of employees - headcount) 100 13.6 2.4
Average number of employees (per firm) 240 306 87
GERD
Total (€M) 31,100 5,500 2,700
GERD devoted to biotechnology
Total (€M) 3,000 3,000 2,600
Proportion of GERD devoted to biotechnology (%) 1 9.6 54.2 98.2
 

1 All figures for GERD are rounded off to the nearest €100,000. However, the ratios are calculated using non-rounded data.

 Coverage: Whole of France.

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41.02 Biotechnology as a proportion of R&D from 2000 to 2014 (%)

  
number of firms
R&D expenditure
 
 

In 2014, active biotechnology firms accounted for a little less than 11% of all firms carrying out R&D.

 Coverage: Whole of France.

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41.03 Breakdown by number of employees of firms carrying out R&D in 2014 (%)

250 employees and more
50-249 employees
20-49 employees
fewer than 20 employees
  
Dedicated biotechnology firms
Active biotechnology firms
All firms active in R&D
 
 
 Coverage: Whole of France.

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41.04 Main research branches of active biotechnology firms in 2014 (%)

Manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations
Specialised scientific and technical activities
Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products
Agriculture, forestry and fisheries
Manufacture of food, beverages and tobacco products
Others
  
% of the number of active biotechnology firms
% of intramural BERD devoted to biotechnology
 
 
 Coverage: Whole of France.

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Other editions

Etat de l'enseignement supérieur et de la rechercheHigher education & research in France, facts and figures 9th edition - November 2016
42 - business R&D in biotechnology - Stéphane Montenache
Intramural business enterprise expenditure on R&D (BERD) in the field of biotechnology totalled €3.0 billion in 2013, accounting for around 10% of BERD. The proportion of firms active in this field of research has remained stable compared to 2012, at 11%. Firms that specialise in biotechnology are mostly small enterprises [Consult the following page]
Etat de l'enseignement supérieur et de la rechercheHigher education & research in France, facts and figures 8th edition - November 2015
41 - business R&D in biotechnology - Stéphane Montenache
Intramural business enterprise expenditure on R&D (BERD) in the field of biotechnology totalled €2.7 billion, accounting for around 9% of BERD. This proportion has remained stable since 2006. The proportion of firms active in this field of research increased by one percentage point in one year to 11% in 2012. Firms that specialise in biotechnology are mostly small enterprises [Consult the following page]

Translation

 Etat de l'enseignement supérieur et de la rechercheL'état de l'Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche en France n°10 - Avril 2017
41 - la R&D en biotechnologies dans les entreprises - Stéphane Montenache
La dépense intérieure de R&D des entreprises (DIRDE) en biotechnologies s’élève à 3,0 milliards d’euros (Md€) en 2014. Elle représente près de 10 % de la DIRDE. La proportion d’entreprises de R&D qui sont actives dans ce domaine est stable par rapport à 2013, à 11 %. Les entreprises spécialisées en biotechnologies sont surtout de petites structures [Consult the following page in french]


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