Biotop-report 2011

30

B i o T O P i c s   4 2 _

B i o T O P   R e p o r t   2 0 1 1

of raw plant materials into superior carbohydrate products, and 

Alacris Theranostics which applies state-of-the-art technologies 

to analyse the tumour material of individual cancer patients. One 

of the Alacris investors is QIAGEN who acquired options to all bio-

markers discovered by Alacris as a result of its investment.

Deals and new products

The year 2010 was marked by a number of new cooperative 

 ventures and important milestones in product development. We 

present a selection of examples from the wide range of entre-

preneurial activities in the Berlin-Brandenburg biomedicine and 

biotech sector:

Epigenomics AG reported several deals closed in 2010 to intensify 

global marketing of its molecular diagnostic cancer tests which 

are based on the determination of changes in DNA methylation. 

The transactions included a non-exclusive license agreement 

with QIAGEN for commercial use of the company’s test for blood-

based diagnosis of colorectal cancer and an agreement with the 

company ARUP Laboratories which plans to launch the same test 

on the US market. 

Silence Therapeutics, a leading company in the field of RNAi ther-

apy development, was also very active, acquiring the US company 

Intradigm and thereby expanding its siRNA delivery range. In 

addition, Silence extended its cooperation agreement with Astra 

Zeneca and expanded its delivery cooperation with  Dainippon 

Sumitomo.

Dr. Peter Heinrich

CEO · MagForce AG

MagForce Receives the STEP Award 2010 as 

Winner in the Category “Products/Technology” 

»

We are very proud to have received the renowned STEP 

Award in recognition of our innovative MagForce ther-

apy for the treatment of brain tumours. This new thera-

peutic approach uses nanoparticles which are activated by 

our  magnetic  field  applicator  to  generate  heat  within  the 

tumour. Our marketing and sales organisation is now work-

ing to ensure that patients will have access to our innovative 

NanoTherm

®

 therapy at leading cancer centres in Germany.

Since its successful launch in 2007, the Charité Entrepreneurship Summit has 

become an annual international forum for participants and speakers coming from 

various professional backgrounds in medicine, the life sciences, and in entrepre-

neurship. 2010 Summit Dinner was held at the Museum for Communication Berlin.

Employment rose to 3904 in 2010. The number of companies went up 

to 200, reflecting the arrival of twelve companies and seven departures. 

(Source: Internal survey, BioTOP database, 195 companies questioned, 

February 2011)

Employees in Biotech SMEs

Nu

mbe

r of

 e

mplo

yee

s

 4000

 3500

 3000

 2500

 2000

 1500

 1000

 500

 0

01 

02 

03 

04 

05 

06 

07

08

09

10

3.164

2.942

3.003

3.007

3.213

3.427

3.590

3.700

3.727

3.904

---

31

B i o T O P i c s   4 2 _

B i o T O P   R e p o r t   2 0 1 1

Oliver Rakau

Analyst at Deutsche Bank Research and author of the 

study  “Deutschlands Biotechnologie regionen. Konzentra-

tion setzt sich fort” (Germany’s Biotechnology Regions. 

Concentration Continues)

Good Opportunities for Sustained Growth

»

When comparing  the  five  leading  German  biotechnol-

ogy locations, Munich and Berlin both prove far ahead 

of the rest as regards a range of criteria. Berlin-Brandenburg 

is slightly ahead of Munich in terms of the number of com-

panies, but companies in Munich are larger on average and 

geographically far closer to each other even than in the Ber-

lin region, which facilitates cooperation. On the other hand, 

Berlin-Brandenburg benefits strongly from having the larg-

est number of research facilities by far. They provide consid-

erable advantages for technology transfer and staff recruit-

ment. The region therefore has excellent preconditions for 

sustained growth. 

Dr. Claire Skentelbery

Network Manager of the Council 

of European BioRegions (CEBR)

An integrated international network

»

 

The Council of European BioRegions is the primary plat-

form for partnership between clusters and biocommu-

nities.  Members work together to defragment biotechnol-

ogy in Europe and significantly improve services to support 

growing clusters and companies. BioTOP was one of the 

founding members of CEBR in 2004 and is the primary point 

of contact for Berlin-Brandenburg in Europe.  BioTOP con-

tributes significantly to CEBR activities, through its excellent 

cluster support services and depth of expertise and under-

standing of company requirements. Through BioTOP, bio-

technology within the German Capital Region is visible at 

a global level; companies and researchers gain maximum 

benefit  from  an  integrated  international  network  and  the 

opportunities available from clusters across Europe.  CEBR 

is proud to have BioTOP as one of its most active members.

 180

 160

 140

 120

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 0

Most companies focus on biomedicine. A total of 85 % of companies, focus primarily on development in the areas of new diagnostics, drug development and 

associated services or technologies. 16 % of the companies are active in the agriculture / food sector, white biotechnology / environmental biotechnology amounts 

to 18 % of all entries. (Source: Internal survey, BioTOP database, responses from 200 companies, multiple entries, February 2010)

Market Segments of Companies

Nu

mbe

r 

of

 co

mp

ani

es

Agriculture/Food

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

31

16%

White  Biotechnology / Environmental  Biotechnology

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

36

18%

Biomedicine

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

169

85%

---