There are 10 biotechnology companies in the country including three that are modern and competitive in the global market (Fermentas UAB, Sicor Biotech UAB, and Biocentras UAB). These are growing companies of good financial standing, having state-of-the-art equipment, highly qualified personnel and research units. According to the number of employees, Fermentas and Sicor Biotech can be considered as major companies on the European scale. These companies have accumulated experience in the implementation of hi-tech innovations and in international commerce and are successfully dealing with intellectual property acquisition and protection issues.

Another group of biotechnology companies such as Biota UAB, Biotechpharma UAB, Imunolita UAB, and recently founded Profarma UAB are small companies manufacturing knowledge-intensive products and/or supplying knowledge-intensive services. Such companies can grow successfully through attraction of international or domestic investment. In the current phase, it is important to demonstrate the qualifications of the staff and the potential to organise production on a wider scale.

The sales volumes of these Lithuanian biotechnology companies totalled LTL 90.2 million in 2006 and have been increasing by more than 20% per annum during the past five years. The indicator is higher than the average growth in the global biotechnology subsector (approx. 15%). The share of exported products accounted for 81% of total production in 2006. Production of biofuels (bioethanol and biodiesel fuel) is another rapidly developing economy segment. The industrial biofuel production has been started in 2004 in Lithuania, reached the amount of LTL 74 million in 2006 and is expected to go over a billion LTL in 2010.

One more business group consists of biotechnology units of major Lithuanian companies Malsena AB and Achema Group. These are companies with a strong financial position whose plans include diversification of production in order to enter the profitable biotechnology subsection offering good prospects. This is a promising line of development in Lithuanian biotechnology even though if its importance has not been fully understood as yet. To strengthen this line it is very important to expose the activities of successful Lithuanian biotechnology companies and to promote the interest of potential local investors in this area.

Lithuania undoubtedly has the most developed biotechnology industry in the Baltic States and is on the 2nd position after Hungary among the former Communist countries. In 2004 there were 16 biotechnology companies in Hungary, with 394 workers and the production volume of LTL 131 million, in Estonia - 12 companies, 192 workers and income of LTL 59 million respectively.