Over the last 40 years 25,000 natural marine products have been isolated. Six drugs have come from the oceans when about thirty molecules are in clinical trials. The marine fauna and flora constitute the largely unexplored reservoirs of these riches. This is the reason for the strong growth of blue biotechnologies.

In the seaweed sector, for example, patent applications have been increasing by 22% per year since 2012, with more than 6,000 applications in 2017. While Asia is extremely active in this field, French players, both public and private, are dynamic and sometimes leaders.

The five marine stations of the Alliance Sorbonne University have contributed to this growth with institutional and private partners.