Chile’s Biotech Scaleups Face Global Barriers but Chart a Clear Route to International Growth

Endeavor Chile’s study, “The Biotech Route,” analyzes internal capabilities, target markets, main barriers, and provides recommendations for scaleups as they scale up.

At Biotech Week, the country’s leading biotechnology event, Endeavor presented “The Biotech Route,” a groundbreaking study analyzing the internal capabilities, target markets, and barriers faced by Chilean biotech scaleups as they strive for growth. While approximately 84% of companies consider internationalization a high or very high priority, the report identifies access to international financing and regulatory complexity in foreign markets as the main obstacles to their global expansion.

The research – developed with the support of Hubtec, Know Hub, Hub APTA, Bayer and Montt Group – was presented during the Endeavor Experience , the third day of Biotech Week, which brought together more than a hundred entrepreneurs, investors and ecosystem leaders in a space marked by workshops, round tables and mentoring with the Endeavor network.

“The findings of this study and the experience shared by the entrepreneurs reinforce that internationalization is not an option, but a strategic imperative. In biotechnology—where maturation cycles are long and highly regulated—incorporating a global perspective from the outset is key to avoiding late barriers and projecting scientific and technological impact toward international markets,” said Andrés Alvarado, director of Endeavor Research.

To this, Anette Krohn, manager of Endeavor Patagonia, added: “Chile has unique advantages thanks to its biodiversity and extreme ecosystems. These conditions position it as a natural laboratory with high potential for developing world-class biotechnological solutions. Empowering startups and scaleups will not only allow us to face major global challenges, but also to diversify our production matrix, generate employment, and add value sustainably in foreign markets.”

Based on qualitative and quantitative data, the analysis paints a challenging picture, with access to international financing being the main barrier, scoring 3.97 out of 5. In this regard, only 31% of companies prioritizing expansion have a strategy to cover internationalization costs. This is partly due to investors’ tendency to focus on projects with greater technological maturity, leaving companies in the production or commercial scaling phase without capital.

The second barrier is regulatory, obtaining a score of 3.55 out of 5 where the slowness and difficulty in managing permits in foreign markets are a constant hindrance, even affecting the shipment of supplies or samples, a critical step in biotechnological development.

The trade gap completes the picture. Nearly a third of the companies in Chile that prioritize internationalization report lacking the commercial capabilities to do so internationally, because their founding teams are primarily composed of scientific backgrounds, limiting their experience in sales, marketing, and business development. Even so, among the strengths identified, 81% have implemented an intellectual property protection strategy, representing a significant competitive advantage.

Markets and their potential

When analyzing destinations of interest for the sector, the United States leads due to its maturity, size, and high standards, especially in biopharmaceuticals and biomanufacturing, although it is also highly competitive. It is a crucial destination for securing financing and is highly clustered by region (e.g., Boston for Life Sciences).

At the regional level, Latin America appears as a natural stepping stone for expansion, with Brazil offering unique potential driven by its biodiversity and scientific infrastructure, while also requiring robust strategies to address costs, regulations, and cultural differences. Mexico stands out as a large and strategic market with operational advantages due to its proximity to the United States, although its ecosystem is still developing.

Similarly, Argentina is a pioneer in the scientific field and boasts an active entrepreneurial sector, but faces limitations due to a lack of scale and economic complexity, while Colombia’s ecosystem possesses untapped potential.

How to expand from Chile to the world?

The study proposes a practical roadmap comprised of four stages. The first, internal preparation, involves building multidisciplinary teams with commercial or financial backgrounds, as well as establishing a founder’s presence in the target market. It also recommends planning for scalable production and ensuring a robust intellectual property protection strategy.

The second phase is exploration and validation, where Chile should be used as a testing ground for initial trials, while simultaneously analyzing regulatory compatibility in each target market. This phase involves quantifying the total market size and how demand is distributed, whether concentrated among a few large players or many small ones, validating customer needs, and conducting proof-of-concept tests with leading companies.

The third phase corresponds to the market entry strategy, where defining the most suitable expansion model is key, whether through direct sales, distribution agreements, or strategic alliances. The study emphasizes the importance of incorporating local talent, hiring salespeople who understand the country’s culture, and having specialized legal counsel.

The final stage is execution and scalability, which involves securing financing, logistics, and evaluating physical presence in the target market, diversifying investment sources, and monitoring key metrics to sustain growth.

Finally, the study includes recommendations from entrepreneurs, mentors, and national technology hubs in Chile to strengthen the capabilities of Science and Technology-Based Enterprises (STEs). The proposals include incorporating talent with global experience in commercial areas, promoting advanced mentorship programs, and fostering co-founders with an entrepreneurial profile. In the regulatory sphere, recommendations include aligning regulations with international standards, designing robust intellectual property strategies from the outset, and streamlining import and export processes, among others.

In terms of financing, the report highlights the need for specific funds for industrial pilot phases and the strengthening of the venture capital ecosystem in Chile. It also proposes that public institutions forge strategic alliances with foreign distributors and corporations, and that international technology hubs be used as launchpads to facilitate access to new markets.

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(Featured image by Caio Silva via Unsplash)

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