For two decades, the term “nanotechnology” has been primarily associated with an R&D race spanning the public and private sectors. But nanotech is now shifting from discovery to commercialization, with $50 billion in nano-enabled products sold worldwide last year from pharmaceuticals to power tools – creating sustained competitive advantage for companies as diverse as Abbott Labs and Black & Decker.

This transition – and a path for businesses and investors to harness it – is the focus of Lux Research’s all-new reference guide The Nanotech Report, 5th Edition, announced.

"Business and financial leaders have relied on The Nanotech Report to inform their strategic decisions since 2001," said Dr. Michael Holman, head of Lux Research’s Nanomaterials Intelligence service. "As nanotechnology moves from the lab to the marketplace, we’ve overhauled The Nanotech Report end-to-end – and introduced new sections on the commoditizing nanomaterials market, public equity investing in nanotech, and nanotech for energy and environmental applications."

In two volumes and more than 500 pages, The Nanotech Report, 5th Edition provides information, data, and judgments to help business and financial leaders make superior strategic decisions.

Key findings from the study’s content include:

Nanotechnology is completing a 20-year transition from lab to market, matching a historical pattern previously seen in fields like plastics and biotech. More than $50 billion in products sold last year incorporated nanotechnology, with very diverse applications: While pharmaceutical firms like Merck and Gilead sold more than $3 billion worth of nano-formulated drugs, Black & Decker scored a market share coup by using high-performance nanophosphate batteries to drive a successful new line of 36V power tools.

Funding for nanotechnology in 2006 totaled $11.8 billion, up approximately 13% from 2005. The U.S. no longer holds a dominant position: Europe outspent the U.S. on government nanotech R&D in 2006, and Asian companies spent the most on corporate nanotech R&D. Further, growth rates for both spending categories in both Europe and Asia exceed the U.S.

Nanotechnology venture capital spending reached $699 million in 2006, up 10% from 2005. Contrary to popular opinion, the venture capital community has not moved on from nanotech as a theme: More new companies with the term “nano” in their names received funding in 2006 than in any prior year.

After years of inconsistent production, the quality of basic nanomaterials like carbon nanotubes and ceramic nanoparticles is rising – and prices are falling, making these materials relevant for new applications. The $49 million carbon nanotube market, for example, grew at 87% in 2006 on the entry of large suppliers like Bayer MaterialScience and Mitsui – threatening the position of start-ups like Hyperion Catalysis and Nanocyl.

At an overall level, small public firms developing nanotech applications are not seeing impressive stock market returns: Out of a comprehensive list of 41 publicly-traded companies worldwide that derive a significant proportion of their revenues from nanotech applications, the average annualized stock price growth rate since the 2002 Nasdaq trough was 0.36%. Within that group, however, select individual companies showed annualized increases of up to 81%.