Spot on Biotechnology Business - BIO.NRW

BIO.NRW
Editorial
Dear Reader,
The daily news is often gloomy. Since 2008,
economies across the globe have been affected
by uncertainties in financial markets,
and today entire states are threatened with
economic collapse. The implications of this
for the immediate future of our societies is
uncertain. What is certain is that our collective
long-term future will be dramatically
impacted by dwindling fossil resources, global
climate change and ageing. In the face of
these short and long-term threats, sound
investment in solutions is crucial, both to
generate economic value and to meet the
enormous challenges that threaten our world.
Biotechnology will surely provide many of
the answers. Consequently, a strategy of
investment in biotech is being implemented
in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW).
Last year, NRW biotech companies increased
their reinvestments into research and development
by 16 percent, to a total of EUR 226
million. 2010 also witnessed a record amount
of venture capital (VC) – EUR 80 million – invested
directly into NRW biotech companies,
including Germany’s second largest ever VC
financing round – EUR 55 million – by AiCuris
GmbH. This was the third-largest VC financing
round worldwide in 2010. AiCuris, which
develops new treatments for infectious diseases
along with partners from industry and
academia, also won public funding from the
NRW government. Alongside several other
consortia, AiCuris is driving the rapid development
of the BIO.NRW.red cluster that focuses
on pharmaceutical biotechnology.
Biotechnology is a cross-industry sector
and the 2010 investments are helping to
develop new products in other lead markets,
such as health and clean technologies.
Overall, the core biotech companies of the
state generate 42 percent of Germany’s total
biotech turnover. After growing by almost
three percent in terms of turnover in 2009,
NRW core biotech companies boosted growth
rate to seven percent in 2010, a positive business
development that led to an increase in
employment in the sector of five percent.
The potential for further growth is strong
and NRW’s biotech scene includes many
innovative start-ups but beside the above
mentioned major attraction of VC last year,
additional lead investors are highly needed
to foster the development of technologies
and processes for personalised medicine,
alternative and sustainable energy, and the
reduction of CO 2 emissions. This activity is
built on NRW’s dynamic academic base and
powerful industrial biotechnology capability.
This 2011 business edition, BIO.NRW Cluster
Biotechnology is the third annual presen-
tation of NRW’s biotech business landscape.
The data section covers 86 biotech companies
that were surveyed by biotechnologie.
de. By applying the OECD definition (page 57)
of biotechnology as a selective criterion, this
approach allows national and international
comparisons of business development. This
year’s company profile section “From Mind
to Market” has grown from 68 to 73 entries.
To provide a similar compendium on the academic
side of biotechnology in North Rhine-
Westphalia, BIO.NRW will be releasing the
companion brochure “<strong>Spot</strong> on Biotechnology
Science” in late 2011.
Over the past year, BIO.NRW has strengthened
collaborations within the cluster. Our
activities have included “platform meetings”
organized by BIO.NRW.red, BIO.NRW.academy
workshops, the extension of the BIO.NRW
business angel network and the second BIO.
NRW PhD student convention. In addition,
NRW biotech company delegations attended
international conventions including the BIO
International Convention in Washington, DC
and BIO-Europe Spring meeting in Milan. We
also played host to the BIO-Europe event in
Duesseldorf in October.
I invite everyone to take advantage of our
offerings and to engage with our state’s
extensive and excellent biotech community.
I am proud to say that NRW is one of the leading
biotech hotspots in Europe.
Dr. Bernward Garthoff
Cluster BIO.NRW
Representative for Biotechnology of the
German State of North Rhine-Westphalia
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