In the future people will wear watches that monitor much more about their health than they do today. When a patient walks into a doctor’s office, the physician could simply read the results and then administer -either through an injection or pill -engineered advanced probiotic systems such as microbes, cells and fungi known as living therapeutics.
Once inside the body these living therapeutics are designed to serve as a kind of drug factory, producing the right amount of treatment in the right place, at the right time, over the long term.
The promise is that another outside dose may never be required because an important feature of this approach is the ability to include biological control mechanisms that regulate therapeutic production – either through patient-managed triggers or in response to specific clinically recognized disease signals.
Once a wide range of living therapeutics gain regulatory approval and are commercialized, drug production could shift from pharmaceutical facilities to biological processes within patients, potentially opening new frontiers in how and where healing occurs. This in turn could make the long-term care of people with chronic or deadly diseases cheaper and more effective in developed countries and change the game in developing countries where people can’t afford to regularly buy medicine and cold chains don’t exist.
It is just one of the top 10 emerging technologies of 2025 named in a report released June 24 by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with the scientific publisher Frontiers. The report spotlights scientific progress addressing real-world challenges that are ready to be commercialized within a five-year horizon.
An underlying theme of this year’s report is technology convergence, noted Jeremy Jurgens, Managing Director, World Economic Forum, during a session about the report at the Forum’s Annual Meeting of The New Champions in Tianjin, China June 24-26. For example, engineered living therapeutics merge synthetic biology and precision medicine. Such integration signals a shift away from standalone innovations to more integrated systems-based solutions, reshaping what is possible, said Jurgens.
“While the publication of scientific research primary focuses on validating and disseminating early results, the emerging technologies report focuses on later stage scientific innovations that have already moved beyond proof of concept, are in the process of being commercialized by startups and larger companies, and are ready to scale,” conference speaker Frederick Fenter, Chief Executive Editor, Frontiers, said in an interview with The Innovator.
Several companies are now developing living therapeutics for commercial use. The report notes that Chariot Bioscience in the U.S. is exploring microbial platforms that release therapeutics into the bloodstream following a single dose, significantly reducing the need for repeated injections. In Switzerland, Aurealis Therapeutics is conducting phase II clinical trials using modified probiotic lactic acid bacteria to simultaneously produce three therapeutic proteins in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers. NEC is conducting clinical phase I/II trials using a weakened strain of Salmonella bacteria to facilitate activation of the patient’s immune system to fight cancer cells.
One of the most promising applications is for an inherited disease called Phenylketonuria or PKU, an inborn error of metabolism that results in decreased metabolism of the amino acid phenylalanine. Untreated PKU can lead to intellectual disability, seizures, behavioral problems, and mental disorders. To avoid this, patients must control their diets and take supplements their entire lives. “One obvious choice is engineered bacterium that colonizes the gut and can express the right enzyme continuously,” says Dr. Sang Yup Lee, Director of the Bioinformatics Research Center at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, one of the founders of the emerging technology report (now in its 13th year) and a member of the steering committee that selects the top ten. He believes such a treatment can be developed within the next five years.
Other living therapeutic applications such as treatment of cancerous tumors may take longer to ensure that serious potential side effects, such as sepsis, can be controlled, he said in an interview with The Innovator.
Dr. Lee’s lab in Korea is working on one of the other emerging technologies on this year’s list: green nitrogen fixation, which converts atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia at a scale of more than 150 million tons per year, which is needed to produce fertilizer supporting 50% of the world’s food production. Green nitrogen fixation now aims to reduce the significant carbon footprint of conventional nitrogen production, which currently accounts for 2% of global energy consumption. “Many things are becoming possible thanks to the integration of biology with engineering,” said Dr. Lee.
The other top emerging technologies of 2025 are:
- Nanozymes: These lab-made materials act like natural enzymes, but are stronger, cheaper and easier to use. They could improve medical tests, clean up pollution and support safer manufacturing.
- GLP-1s for neurodegenerative diseases: Drugs originally used for diabetes and weight loss are now showing promise in slowing diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. These treatments could offer new hope where few options exist today.
- Autonomous biochemical sensing: These small, smart sensors can monitor health or environmental changes around the clock without needing wires or people to check them. They could help detect pollution or illness early, saving time and lives.
- Advanced nuclear technologies: New, smaller nuclear designs and alternative cooling systems offer safer, lower-cost clean energy. As energy demand grows with electrification and AI, these reactors could play a key role in building reliable, zero-carbon power systems.
- Structural battery composites: Materials that store energy and support weight, like in cars or planes, can make electric vehicles lighter and more efficient. This helps reduce emissions and improve performance.
- Osmotic power systems: By capturing energy from where saltwater meets freshwater, these systems can produce clean electricity. They are a promising source of steady, low-impact power in coastal areas.
- Collaborative Sensing: Networks of connected sensors can help vehicles, cities and emergency services share information in real time. This can improve safety, reduce traffic and respond faster to crises:
- Generative watermarking: This technology adds invisible tags to AI-generated content, making it easier to tell what is real and what is not. It could help fight misinformation and protect trust online.
The top 10 emerging technologies were selected through a global process involving over 300 experts from the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Councils, the University and Research Network, the Frontiers college of Chief Editors, which comprises some 2,200 scientists, and co-chairs Bernard Meyerson, Chief Innovation Officer Emeritus, IBM, and Mariette DiChristina, Dean and Professor, Process in Journalism, Boston University.
The Innovator plans to publish a series of independently reported in-depth articles on the 2025 emerging trends in its FutureScope section, under a collaboration agreement with Frontiers.
To read more of The Innovator’s FutureScope articles click here.
