Investment Areas

 

Agricultural Biotechnology

 

The agbio industry is technologically diverse and addresses global problems that extend far beyond agriculture. Technologies that enhance the quantity, quality, health and functionality of outputs from microbes, plants and animals have applications in the energy, pharmaceutical and food safety industries.

A convergence of agriculture and biomedicine is seen in particularly in the New Zealand biotechnology sector, which has experienced a new expansion in the past 3 years. The industry can more specifically be categorized into:
 

  • Increased Agricultural Productivity – increasing the production of food and food related products; using genomics to produce crops or livestock with unique traits and capabilities, animal and plant health, disease resistance and pest control with the end goal of increasing agricultural productivity. As global demand for food increases due to growing world population, resource constraints, and land limitations, increased agricultural productivity through genetics becomes the only solution.
     
  • Cleaner More Efficient Industrial Outputs – biofuels including plant and microbial derived fuels, industrial intermediates, and industrial products. As the costs of traditional materials (petroleum based plastics, fossil fuels, etc.) that have powered the 20th century increase, there is a growing demand for new sources of energy and industrial materials. Furthermore with increasing water, air, and soil pollution among developed and developing countries alike, there is demand for alternative means of production that are both cost effective and environmentally friendly. Leveraging our access and expertise in plant and animal genomics, the General Partner will participate in this opportunity through investing in key technologies that enhance both the quantity and quality of plant and animal derived materials, creating a sustainable shift to bio-based energy sources and industrial intermediaries.
     
  • Plant Based Pharmaceuticals (also known as Plant Made Pharmaceuticals or PMP’s – aimed towards the expression of large molecule drugs including human therapeutic proteins and monoclonal antibodies within plant based systems. In order to address the long term imbalance between supply and demand of large molecule drugs, most companies are turning towards transgenic plant technologies as a possible alternative to current microbial and animal systems. Advances in genetic engineering now make it possible to use crops such as corn and tobacco as drug factories. Industry estimates for unit costs of therapeutic production with animal cell bioreactors range from as low as $106/g to $650/g of antibody, whereas the cost of producing the same amount of therapeutics from plants is estimated to be four to five times lower.
     
  • Agriculture Enhancing Technologies (so-called “agritech”) – tools, software and mechanical devices that improve on-farm productivity, food processing, measurements (e.g. temp), traceability and predictive modeling for food product integrity, reproduction of livestock etc. In an industry of fine margins, investments into technology that ensure product quality and consistency on a supply chain filled with breaks are essential. Consumer demand for quality assurance of food products, especially in the wake of potentially global epidemics from BSE or Mad Cow Disease, Avian Flu, etc., is creating vast opportunities for companies with technologies capable of more efficient processing, traceability, and maintaining product integrity.