BioTOP-Report
2014
Biotech and Pharma in Berlin-Brandenburg
BioTOPics 47 | May 2014 BioTOP-Report 2014
Editorial
The German Capital Region – Biotechnology and Life Sciences are Ready for the Future
3
Biotechnology
The Capital Region – New Jobs and New Companies
4
Pharma
Attractive Location
14
Glycoscience
Glyco Research for Innovations in Health Industry
18
Bioelectronics
The Joint Lab Bioelectronics – A New Platform for the Integration of Microelectronics into Life Sciences 20
Business Location
Excellent Services for Berlin-Brandenburg
24
Spotlight on European Business and Internationalization
The Enterprise Europe Network Berlin-Brandenburg
26
Biotech Parks
The BioCampus Network Berlin-Brandenburg
34
Addresses 39
Publisher: Berlin Partner für Wirtschaft und Technologie GmbH · BioTOP Berlin-Brandenburg
Fasanenstraße 85 · 10623 Berlin · Germany · Phone +49 30 318622–0 · Fax +49 30 318622–22 · biotop@biotop.de · www.healthcapital.de
Editor: Volker Erb
Design & Production: webersupiran.berlin
Translation: Kate Abbott · Berlin
Photos/Figures: BioTOP or authors and:
Page 14 Paulus Rusyanto/dreamstime.com, Sean Pavone/dreamstime.com Page 21 Warenemy/dreamstime.com, Collpicto/dreamstime.com Page 27 adimas/Fotolia (Profile Alacris), Noah Clayton/co.don (Profile co.don) Page 30 Werner Popp (Profile organobalance).
3
BioTOPics 47 | May 2014BioTOP-Report 2014
Editorial
The German Capital Region – Biotechnology and
Life Sciences are Ready for the Future
Berlin-Brandenburg is an extremely attractive location for research and its translation into industrial applications.
The establishment of the Berlin Institute of Health, successful spin-offs and inward investment show that the
Ger-man capital region provides top conditions for the healthcare industry. Berlin is the start-up capital of GerGer-many!
With its new “Healthcare Industries” master plan, the capital
re-gion is setting the course for the sector’s development until 2018.
Basic research, innovation, spin-offs and application – in the
fu-ture, these will remain the four pillars that determine the
success-ful implementation of the cluster strategy in Berlin-Brandenburg.
Biotechnology/pharmaceuticals, medical technology and the
healthcare industries are the focal areas. In the coming years,
biotechnology/pharmaceuticals development will feature:
The creation of new translation platforms in basic research,
clinical research and industrial biotechnology
Max Planck and Fraunhofer Research, as well as the Helmholtz
and Leibnitz Institutes, are drivers of technology transfer and
pio-neers of innovative technologies and products.
Concentration on therapy development through new system
medicine strategies
The Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine and Charité –
Universitätsmedizin Berlin are the umbrella for the new flagship of
German biomedicine.
In diagnostics, focus on the development of companion
diag-nostics
Laboratory medicine, applied research, SMEs and the
pharma-ceuticals industry are pooling their activities for therapy
optimiza-tion in personalized medicine.
In regenerative medicine, concentration on the development of
new cell therapies
The Berlin-Brandenburg Center for Regenerative Therapies
(BCRT), biotechnology SMEs and pharmaceuticals partners in
the international Regenerative Medicine Coalition are part of a
high-performance product development network.
Focus on the sustainable use of biological resources for
medi-cal applications in industrial biotechnology
The Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering, university-related
research and biotechnology SMEs are successfully implementing
the federal government’s bioeconomics strategy and contributing
to the strength of the healthcare industries.
Development of new growth fields in the life sciences with
inter-disciplinary technologies
Cross innovation at the interface of microsystems technology,
mi-croelectronics, photonics and surface engineering and thin films
open up completely new opportunities for analytics, automation
and hardware development and along with this, for growth, value
creation and cost reduction.
Value chain expansion via inward investment and industrial
location expansion
With more than 200 biotechnology companies, over 30 research
institutions and over 130 clinics and hospitals,
Berlin-Branden-burg is already a European hot spot for the life sciences. Growth
in expertise, players and investment will reinforce the capital
re-gion’s leading position in the international markets.
This new edition of the BioTOP Report provides you with an
ex-citing, informative overview of the development in the capital
re-gion’s industries. With themes such as glyco-engineering
technol-ogy and bioelectronics, it underscores internationally outstanding
activities. We wish you reading pleasure and invite you to commit
to Berlin-Brandenburg as a place to develop your business.
Reach out and contact us!
Prof. Dr. Peter Seeberger
Dr. Günter Peine
Expert Circle Spokesman
Head of
BioTOPics 47 | May 2014 BioTOP-Report Biotechnology
JANUARY 2013
Epigenomics AG hands in fourth module at FDA completes application for approval as planned +++ co.don® AG applied for approval of joint cartilage
product chondrosphere® in the EU +++ Shire discovered the Munich-based RNA
specialist Ethris for itself. In cooperation the two companies want to find therapies for rare diseases
FEBRUARY 2013
Epigenomics receives notice about grant of priority review status and accep-tance of the hand-in of the PMA application for Epi proColon® from the FDA +++
Innovation forum “Biopolymers and Bio-based Plastics” in Schwarz heide
MARCH 2013
BIOTECON Diagnostics GmbH extends its robot segment +++ Epigenomics AG collects 5,0 million Euros through capital increase +++ New research collective INNO-TRACE develops innovative contrast agents for tumour imaging
APRIL 2013
Europe's largest clinical laboratory at Campus Virchow-Klinikum: Labor Berlin inaugurates new site
MAY 2013
Bayer HealthCare presents new incubator model for biotech start-ups in Berlin
JUNE 2013
Alacris Theranostics GmbH announces Illumina CSPro certificate for next gen-eration sequencing +++ Humedics co-founder Martin Stockmann receives Von-Langenbeck Prize for development of LiMAx test
JULY 13
Berlin-Brandenburg Healthcare Industries cluster HealthCapital launches new website: www.healthcapital.de +++ Caprotec expands alliance with Bayer +++
EZAG AG in participation via subsidiary OctreoPharm Sciences GmbH +++ cap-rotec bioanalytics GmbH and Bayer CropScience enter into second research collaboration +++ NOXXON Pharma completes patient recruitment for phase IIa study in diabetic nephropathy +++ Romer Labs® and the Institute for Product
Quality (ifp) launch new AgraQuant® F.A.S.T.
AUGUST 13
Bayer HealthCare concludes partnership and license agreement with Compu-gen Ltd. for the research, development and marketing of antibody-based drugs for cancer immunotherapy. +++ caprotec bioanalytics GmbH and Syngenta Inter-national AG announce research collaboration +++ Epigenomics AG agreement with YA Global Master SPV Ltd. brings funding of up to €5 million
SEPTEMBER 13
Eckert & Ziegler BEBIG s.a. takes over prostate cancer implantation business of American company Biocompatibles Inc. for $5 million +++ Myelo Therapeutics GmbH successfully completes funding round for the development of adjuvant cancer therapy
OCTOBER 13
Epigenomics and Polymedco sign commercialization agreement for Epi proCo-lon® for the North American market +++ Sugar is life: GlycoUniverse successfully
launched in Campus Buch +++ Cell Medica, a leading company in the T-cell
Biotechnology
The Capital Region – New Jobs and New Companies
The growth trend of recent years continues in 2013. Employee numbers have grown by 5.6 % (last year, 6.5 %).
Currently, 232 companies employ 4,586 people. The constant momentum is accompanied by many newly founded
businesses.
k
According to the latest BioTOP survey, 232 biotechnology
companies are active in the Berlin-Brandenburg region. This
means the company base has expanded by a total of 10
companies against last year.
k
A total of 14 companies have stopped doing business in the
region, either shutting down completely or relocating.
k
The addition of 24 companies more than compensated for
this loss. Of the new companies, we count 6 additions due
to inward investment and new registration and – particularly
notable – 18 start-ups.
k
The current base of 232 companies has created 352 new jobs.
This translates into a growth rate of over 8 percent.
k
After subtracting the 114 jobs lost due to business shut-downs,
the sector in the region gained a total of 273 jobs, adding up
to regional employment growth of 5.6 % in the sector.
For many years, biotechnology region Berlin-Brandenburg has
been on a steady growth course. One of the sector’s leading
re-gions in Germany and Europe, it hosted 18 start-ups last year
alone – a figure to note. This speaks volumes in favor of the
loca-tion’s general conditions and the commitment of the many players
involved and their start-up-related activities. And above all,
un-derscores the courage of the many company founders who are
seeking their fortune in this highly sophisticated sector.
Smaller companies dominate the region’s business landscape:
139 companies in the sector have less than 10 employees. Only
13% of the total jobs are located in these companies, however.
Over 53% of the sector’s employees in the region work for the 19
companies with more than 50 employees.
The majority of these companies (88%) focus on the areas of new
therapeutic agents, diagnostic products and biopharmaceuticals
services; followed by 19% in the agriculture/food sectors and 13%
in the industrial biotechnology sector (multiple mentions).
The start-ups still have little effect on the job market. At their
5
BioTOPics 47 | 6. Juni 2014 (3:02)BioTOP-Report Biotechnology
Key milestones achieved
MOLOGEN
completed a successful fiscal year 2013 with three
different product candidates in clinical development for the first
time. The final evaluations for the completed clinical trials of
MGN1703 and MGN1601 provided very positive data, and with
MGN1404 (a product that combats malignant melanoma), the
company launched the clinical development phase of another
product candidate within the framework of a partnership,
contrib-uting to an expansion of its pipeline. For its most advanced
prod-uct candidate, the cancer immunotherapy MGN1703, MOLOGEN
was also able to present very positive clinical data from the final
evaluation of a phase II trial in colorectal cancer (IMPACT study)
in 2013. For the most part, the preparations for a phase III pivotal
study in this indication were completed in the course of the last
fiscal year.
Glycotope
specializes in the glycosylation of proteins. Glycotope
has a broad portfolio of drugs in clinical development, including
the new cancer drugs, PankoMab-GEX™ and CetuGEX™, both
in phase IIb trials. PankoMab-GEX™ is the first fully glycosylated
and glyco-optimized human antibody for a novel tumor-specific
carbohydrate-protein mixed epitope (TA-MUC1) abundantly
pres-ent in a larger set of tumor indications, metastases and cancer
stem cells. Additional Glycotope products include TrasGEX™,
which has successfully completed its phase I/IIa trial and the
im-proved fertility hormone FSH-GEX™, which is expected to begin
two phase III clinical trials in 2014.
Biopharmaceuticals company
NOXXON Pharma
is a pioneer in
the development of a new class of proprietary therapeutic agents
called “Spiegelmers,” which are chemically synthesized
L-ste-Dr. Matthias Schroff
CEO MOLOGEN AG
We are well aware that our company’s success is also due to
the conditions that Berlin and the capital region offer.
Wheth-er research collaboration (FU BWheth-erlin) or clinical studies with
Charité Universitätsmedizin and its departments – we benefit
from the close scientific network. The availability of qualified
personell is also a key advantage, which surely ties into the
high quality of life in Berlin. Berlin is a city for conferences
and conventions and many of our sector associations have
their headquarters here. This is another reason why Berlin is
an excellent location for medical biotechnology. As a research
company, we appreciate the fact that Berlin is one of the
world's leading regions and innovative locations in the field
of life sciences.
therapy field, opens a central European production facility in Berlin-Buch +++
ProBioGen upholds strong patent position in viral vaccine manufacturing field
NOVEMBER 13
Glycotopes Fully Human and Glycooptimized Recombinant FSH-GEX exhibits superior activity and excellent tolerability in phase II clinical trial for in vitro fertilization +++ The methylated SHOX2 biomarker from Epigenomics shows promising results for therapy-related monitoring of lung cancer patients +++
SCIENION´s sciFLEXARRAYER receives product technology innovation award from Materials Science Society AVS +++ The NeuroPro Alliance, a joint ven-ture between the Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau, nanoPET Pharma GmbH and AudioCure Pharma GmbH, receives research award.
DECEMBER 13
OMEICOS Therapeutics: new drug for atrial fibrillation in model systems tests positively +++ Contichrom® systems from KNAUER receive
Berlin-Branden-burg Innovation Award +++ ProBioGen announces expansion of commercial licenses with emergent biosolutions for AGE1.CR® viral vaccine manufacturing
production platform
JANUARY 14
Improved diagnostics for sepsis-associated liver dysfunction with LiMAx test from Humedics GmbH +++ Epigenomics starts trading on US OTCQX mar-ket +++ Cell Medica announces European Union orphan drug designation for Cytovir ADV +++ ward-winning Ostendum Lab-on-a-Chip nanodevices are pro-duced with SCIENION's sciFLEXARRAYER SX
FEBRUARY 14
The Swedish-German company Amal Therapeutics SA has acquired investors for a seed financing round +++ mivenion GmbH receives FDA approval for Xiralite® Fluorescence Imaging System X4 for microcirculation visualization +++
€15 million for Mologen
MARCH 14
Glycotope GmbH raises €55 million +++ FDA Advisory Committee Provides Recommendations for Epigenomics' Colorectal Cancer Screening Blood Test
APRIL 14
Alacris Theranostics GmbH announces partnership with Walldorfer SAP AG
+++ On May 14, Bayer HealthCare opened its first German CoLaborator in Berlin-Mitte on the company's premises +++ Bayer Pharma AG participates in the High-Tech Startup Fund II +++ International pharmaceutical company Takeda extends production facility in Oranienburg
BioTOPics 47 | May 2014 BioTOP-Report Biotechnology 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1.000 1.100 1.200 1.300 1.400 1.500 1.600 1.700 1.800 1.900 2.000 2.100 2.200 2.300 2.400 2.500 139 companies 1-10 employees
Number of Employees According to Company Size
74 companies 11-50 employees 19 companies > 51 employees
'04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 Number of emplo yees
602
1.542
2.442
In comparison to the previous year, the average number of employees per company decreased by 9,2 % in the 1-10 category and increased 15,9 % in the 11-50 category. The average number of employees in the category > 50 employees increased by 3,7 %. (Source: Own survey, BioTOP database, 232 companies questioned, February 2014)
reoisomer RNA aptamers and a non-immunogenic alternative
to antibodies. NOXXON is approaching the completion of
multi-ple proof-of-concept studies with a diversified portfolio of
clini-cal-stage Spiegelmer
®therapeutic agents exhibiting high safety
and tolerability, and promising signs of efficacy. Emapticap pegol
(NOX-E36), an anti-CCL2/MCP-1 Spiegelmer
®, is currently in a
phase IIa study in patients with diabetic nephropathy. Olaptesed
pegol (NOX-A12), an anti-CXCL12/SDF-1 Spiegelmer
®, is
cur-rently in phase IIa studies in two hematological cancers: multiple
myeloma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Lexaptepid pegol
(NOX-H94), an anti-hepcidin Spiegelmer
®, has shown efficacy in
a subset of anemic cancer patients with functional iron deficiency
in a pilot study where the pharmacodynamic parameters of iron
metabolism and erythropoiesis were positively influenced and
hemoglobin levels increased following lexaptepid mono-therapy.
The product will also be evaluated in a phase IIa study in dialysis
7
BioTOPics 47 | May 2014 BioTOP-Report Biotechnology 0 500 1.000 1.500 2.000 2.500 3.000 3.500 4.000 4.500 5.000 '13Employees in Biotech SMEs
'04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12
Number of
emplo
yees
4.586
Employment rose to 4.586 in 2013. This is a growth of 5,6 % in comparison to the previous year. The number of companies went up to 232, reflecting the arrival of 24 companies (18 start-ups) and 14 departures. (Source: Internal survey, BioTOP database, 232 companies questioned, February 2014)
Epigenomics
, a molecular diagnostics company in the process
of developing and commercializing a pipeline of proprietary
products for the screening and diagnosis of cancer, announced
the outcome of a meeting of the Molecular and Clinical Genetics
Panel of the FDA’s Medical Devices Advisory Committee held in
conjunction with its premarket approval for its blood-based
col-orectal cancer screening test Epi proColon
®. The members of the
Medical Devices Advisory Committee voted favorably,
determin-ing that the benefits of Epi proColon
®do outweigh the risks for use
in patients who meet the criteria.
Caprotec bioanalytics
and Syngenta International AG announced
a joint research agreement in which Syngenta will gain access
to caprotec’s proprietary capture compound mass
spectrome-try technology. The companies will work together to profile the
interactions of one of Syngenta’s novel active compounds with
the proteome in its relevant plant biological system. caprotec’s
platform enables the unbiased evaluation of the interactions of
small molecules with protein mixtures in a targeted and directed
manner, which facilitates the identification and elucidation of
trac-table targets and accelerates the development of promising leads.
Cell Medica
announced that the European Medicines Agency
(EMA) Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products has issued a
positive opinion on an application for orphan designation of a
novel T cell immunotherapy under development by the company.
The cell therapy Cytovir ADV targets the treatment of adenovirus
infections in patients following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell
(bone marrow) transplant. It is comprised of adenovirus-specific T
cells derived from allogeneic donor leukocytes, expanded ex vivo.
co.don
is one of the world’s leading specialists in the cultivation
of cells for the joint-preserving treatment of articular cartilage and
intervertebral disk defects. Using the company’s patented
thera-peutic products, doctors are able to avoid joint and intervertebral
disk prostheses in many cases. An increasing number of
orthope-dists, orthopedic surgeons and neurosurgeons are relying on this
regenerative therapeutic procedure. This minimally invasive
meth-od for articular cartilage regeneration has been successful with
approx. 6,000 patients in Germany. Experts estimate the overall
European market to have a potential annual worth of approx. €1.2
billion. With its current infusion of capital, co.don is paving the
way for the EU-wide approval of its biological therapeutic co.don
chondrotransplant
®DISC – an autologous method for treating
in-tervertebral disk damage.
MetrioPharm
was able to complete the regulatory pre-clinical
study package. The most important outcome was MP1032’s
superior safety profile as confirmed by the results from the
var-ious regulatory pharmacology and toxicology studies conducted
throughout the past year. The results of these tests surpassed
all ambitious expectations. Repeated daily administration of up
to 150(!) times the normal therapeutic dose for 28 consecutive
days did not cause any side-effects or adverse events whatsoever.
A clean safety profile is a highly valuable asset for a new drug.
With the impeccable animal safety data obtained for MP1032 an
important foundation for entering clinical Phase I trials in 2014
was laid. For the first time, MP1032 can now be tested directly in
humans.
BioTOPics 47 | May 2014 BioTOP-Report Biotechnology
ProBioGen
is an internationally operating technology
provid-er and contract development and manufacturing organization
(CDMO) with almost 20 years of experience in cell culture,
pro-cess development and GMP manufacturing. A competent and
reliable CDMO partner, ProBioGen offers customized solutions
for even the most challenging development and manufacturing
requirements. ProBioGen has signed its latest GlymaxX
®ADCC
technology deal with a top-10 pharmaceuticals company for a
therapeutic antibody platform.
Investment in the Region
In recent months, these companies have acquired financing of
almost €100 million. Glycotope GmbH has led the field with a
new financing round of €55 million. Investors have supplied the
company with €130 million in the past few years. One of the
larg-est in Europe, the latlarg-est round of financing has attracted
inter-national attention. It will be exciting to see how Glycotope’s
fu-ture develops. The listed companies have also obtained a new
infusion of money. Mologen and Epigenomics have been able to
financially safeguard their next steps with new capital increases,
for example. High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and IBB
Beteiligu-ngsgesellschaft, one of the most active venture capital financiers
in Germany, were among the most responsive financiers in the
early-stage area again in 2013. Subsidies from the states of
Ber-lin and Brandenburg, which contributed project-related funding
volumes of 42 Mio. Euro to life sciences companies alone,
supple-mented private funding. Investment helps not only the companies
involved, but is also relevant for the development of the overall
biotechnology region, generating useful growth effects above and
beyond its benefits to individual companies.
Conclusion
The Berlin-Brandenburg biotechnology region has enjoyed a
con-stant growth trend for years. The companies in the sector have
again proven their competitiveness in 2013/2014. After many years
of developing products and conducting the studies required by
the certifying authorities, the near future will show whether the
investments have paid off. Most of the biopharmaceutical
com-panies are doing so well that is safe to be optimistic, although the
risk remains high. The region’s pool of highly specialized service
providers is only one of the factors upon which this excellent
eco-nomic development is based. The companies in the sector grow
organically and are typically less dependent on external investors.
They important sector delivers constant, sustainable growth for
the Berlin-Brandenburg region.
Relatively strong fluctuation is typical of the still-young
biotech-nology sector. Established companies go and new ones come to
take their place. The high number of start-ups, which ultimately
compensate for failed business ventures, is another reason for
optimism. To ensure the successful development of these young
companies, private investors must actively participate in
ear-ly-stage financing again.
Dr. Karen Uhlmann
COO/Co-CEO Omeicos Therapeutics GmbH
Dr. Robert Fischer
CSO/Co-CEO Omeicos Therapeutics GmbH
OMEICOS Therapeutics is working on a new drug for the treatment of atrial fibrillation, and would like to implement the clinical
devel-opment by the end of 2016. The demand for a new atrial fibrillation treatment is high – and with it, its commercial potential. All of the
medicines available now to the majority of patients have a limited effect, and some of them go hand in hand with highly problematic
side effects. Working with their partners at the Texas Southwestern Medical Center, scientists at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular
Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch have identified a metabolism product of the Omega 3 fatty acid with an anti-arrhythmic effect. Based on
this product, they have synthesized drug candidate OMT-33. The fact that the active ingredient can be further developed for
commer-cial use as part of a start-up is due to the very good general conditions existing before the company was even established. OMEICOS
received its initial financial support from the MDC PreGO-Bio funds and Helmholtz Enterprise, the spin-off support project of the
Helmholtz Association. The company received seed financing through a High-Tech Gründerfonds participation and ProFIt funding
from the state of Berlin, which is co-funded with capital from the European Fund for Regional Development (EFRE). With its BioTech
Park, Campus Berlin-Buch provides the ideal framework conditions and an outstanding infrastructure for our product development
phase. Of course the direct proximity to MDC is essential to our success. OMEICOS and MDC will continue to work in close
partner-ship. And our cooperation with the Campus' BBB Management GmbH also makes the location very attractive for us.
vfa bio represents the biotech interests within the German Association of
Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (vfa). vfa campaigns for the
interests of 45 worldwide leading pharmaceutical companies in the fields
of health, research and economy.
vfa bio seeks to exploit the therapeutic and economic potential of
bio-technology to make Germany the leading biotech location in Europe.
Medical biotechnology is vfa bio’s topic. We primarily deal with:
▪ Medical progress provided by biopharmaceuticals -
benefit for patients, physicians and society as a whole
▪ Access to biopharmaceuticals for patients
▪ Business location Germany and regulatory and economic framework
for research, development and production of biopharmaceutical
▪ Biosimilars
▪ Orphan medicinal products (medicines for rare diseases)
▪ Advanced therapies such as gene and cell therapy and tissue
engineering products
Bild: © vfa / Mar tin JoppenBioTOPics 47 | May 2014 BioTOP-Report Biotechnology
But they will only do so if the general conditions for venture capital
are significantly improved. The political decision makers seem to
agree on this objective – now all they have to do is adopt relevant
new laws.
The Start-Up Capital is Booming
For many years, the Berlin-Brandenburg region has been
gener-ating international headlines as the start-up capital of Germany.
Hardly a week goes by without a new start-up being founded, a
major financing round being concluded or a major corporation
committing to act as an accelerator or incubator. The region is
booming; it’s an international hot spot. However, this has more to
do with IT and web-based applications start-ups.
Till Erdmann
Managing Director Myelo Therapeutics GmbH
Dirk Pleimes
Managing Director and Chief Medical Officer Myelo Therapeutics GmbH
We are a young pharmaceutical company that develops new
therapies in fields of application with high medical needs. With
a clear strategy for developing our innovative active ingredient
Myelo001 for treating chemotherapy-induced neutropenia, we
have successfully obtained the support of a series of strategic
investors, including IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft, Eckert Life
Science Accelerator (ELSA) and Valenta Pharmaceuticals.
The German capital region provides a high concentration of
science and research, clinics and business, as well as a high
quality of life. It is predestined to be a location for
pharma-ceutical companies. The technology parks and networks that
are part of the Healthcare Industries cluster represent an
out-standing infrastructure for translating the latest scientific
find-ings into innovative products.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190 200 210 Agriculture/Food
Market Segments of Companies
White Biotechnology /Environmental Biotechnology Biomedicine
'13 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 Number of companies
31
14%
45
19%
204
88%
Most companies focus on biomedicine. A total of 88 % of companies, focus primarily on development in the areas of new diagnostics, drug development and associated services or technologies. 13 % of the companies are active in the agriculture / food sector, white biotechnology / environmental biotechnology amounts to 19 % of all entries. (Source: Internal survey, BioTOP database, responses from 232 companies, multiple entries, February 2014)
BIOCOM AG | Lützowstraße 33–36 | 10785 Berlin | Germany www.biocom.de | Tel. +49 (0)30 264921-0 | Fax +49 (0)30 264921-11
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BioTOPics 47 | May 2014 BioTOP-Report BiotechnologyDoes this status relate at all to start-ups in the life sciences? At first
glance, perhaps not. But take a closer look: The large number of
players (founders, investors and incubators), the university
sup-port programs and many start-up competitions, and the range of
various activities create a start-up-compatible atmosphere, which
has a positive impact on the start-up scene in the life sciences.
Putting it simply, the spillover effect is high.
There have not been as many life sciences start-ups in years as
there were in the last half of fiscal year 2013/2014. And the
strik-ing thstrik-ing about them is that some of the new companies are
focus-ing on new drug development. Here are a few examples of recent
start-ups and their concepts:
OMEICOS
Therapeutics
is a spin-off of the Max Delbrück
Cen-ter for Molecular Medicine. It develops synthetic compounds with
innovative modes of action for the treatment of various human
diseases. The company is working on a new drug for the
treat-ment of atrial fibrillation, the most common type of human
car-diac arrhythmia.
Myelo Therapeutics
has developed a drug for
the prophylactic treatment of post-chemotherapy patients whose
blood contains too few white blood cells (neutropenia) or platelets
(thrombocytopenia). Venture capital investors IBB
Beteiligungs-gesellschaft with their VC Fonds Technologie Berlin, Eckert
Wag-niskapital und Frühphasenfinanzierung and JSC Valenta
Phar-maceuticals are in the company’s financing consortium.
Amal
Therapeutics
, a company with facilities in Geneva and Berlin, is
developing a vaccine consisting of a recombinant protein with a
cell-penetrating peptide acting as a vector. The unique property
of this platform is its ability to trigger a highly integrated,
multi-epi-topic cellular immune response to cancer cells.
DexLeChem
, a
TU Berlin spin-off, provides development services to the
chemi-www.takeda.de
For more than 230 years, Takeda has been serving society
with innovative medicines. Now, with new healthcare solutions
from prevention to care and cure, we are determined to help
even more people enjoy their lives to the fullest. Of our 30,000
employees worldwide, 1,700 are working in Germany to
develop, produce and market a broad range of medicines to
help patients reclaim valuable moments of life from illness.
Our Business: Committed to Improving Health
13
BioTOPics 47 | May 2014 BioTOP-Report Biotechnologycal-pharmaceutical industries for making production processes
more chiral, meaning to convert substances with spatially complex
designs into water-based processes. The catalyst is not modified
before re-use. With this resource-conserving reaction process
control, customers – drug and fragrance manufacturers – benefit
from more cost-efficient, environmentally friendly production
pro-cesses.
GlycoUniverse
is a technology spin-off of the Max Planck
Institute of Colloids and Interfaces. The company specializes in
the automated development and synthetic production of complex
sugars. With GlycoUniverse’s state-of-the-art oligosaccharide
synthesizer GLYCONEER
®, the process of synthesizing complex
carbohydrates that formerly took months or years can be
complet-ed in a matter of days or even hours.
The high number of start-ups is the result of a critical mass of
players, activities and initiatives in the start-up area, its
well-developed infrastructure and excellent location factors as
well. These include the seven biotechnology parks that make
affordable laboratories and technical infrastructure available,
and the many scientific institutes that produce highly skilled
specialists. The universities join in with comprehensive spin-off
support programs, some of which are triggered by the federal
government’s “EXIST-Gründungskultur - Die Gründerhochschule”
competition. Pharmaceuticals giant Bayer Healthcare has
also discovered the region’s potential, providing the technical
infrastructure, professional support and expertise of an
established pharmaceuticals company to young companies via
its CoLaborator, opened in May. Another important element is the
many business plan competitions in which founders receive initial
feedback for their business concepts. With 140 events, a network
of over 200 consultants and over 500 business plan submissions
per year, the Berlin-Brandenburg Business Plan Competition is
one of the largest competitions of this type in Germany.
The momentum in the Berlin-Brandenburg region is powerful –
especially at the interface of IT and the life sciences. There are
a variety of names for this new area, including eHealth, itHealth,
dHealth and mHealth. What they all designate is the successful
fu-sion of the two fields, facilitated by web-based applications in the
medical sector. This development is still young, but with its unique
density of IT and life sciences players, the Berlin-Brandenburg
location is particularly suitable for generating new companies.
The first companies have already been founded; take
Caterna
, an
online school for visual exercises, or
NeuroNation
, the new digital
brain-jogging platform for example. There are many new
compa-nies in this new field, and in XL Health, it even has a financially
strong investor specialized in digital health.
Financing and Added Value
VC Fonds Technologie Berlin was set up as a joint initiative of Investitionsbank Berlin (IBB) and the State of Berlin. It is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Venture Capital
for companies in Berlin
IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH offers equity
financ-ing for high tech companies in Berlin. For our fund
VC Fonds
Technologie
Berlin
(
€
52m) we are looking
for investment opportunities in the biotechnology and
medical technology sector.
Our investment approach is based on hands-on
invol-vement and active management support for each
portfolio company, delivered by our highly
expe-rienced investment team.
VC Fonds
Technologie
Berlin
not only provides capital, but also helps execute the
business plan.
Are you interested? Please do not hesitate to contact us.
IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH
Mrs. Ute Mercker / Mr. Christian Seegers
Bundesallee 210
10719 Berlin / Germany
Phone: +49 (0)30 2125-3201
www.ibb-bet.de
BioTOPics 47 | May 2014 BioTOP-Report Pharma
Pharma
Attractive Location
The capital region has developed into one of Germany’s most important, attractive centers for the medical and
healthcare industries. Based on the significant growth of the pharmaceuticals industry in Berlin, these sectors are
the growth engine of the regional industry. Currently, the sectors employ approx. 10,000 people in the German
capital region. This means that pharmaceuticals companies account for around one in every 10 jobs in the regional
industry – and every 11th employee in the pharmaceuticals sector in German works in Berlin.
Globally active corporations are located along the Spree River:
Bayer Healthcare, Berlin-Chemie, Pfizer Deutschland, Sanofi
Deutschland and since 2011, Takeda. The capital region is also
home to over 20 medium-sized pharmaceuticals companies,
in-cluding several world market leaders.
Above all, the sectors benefit from the capital region’s excellent
scientific environment and clinical research landscape, the
prox-imity to decision-makers in the healthcare system and the ready
availability of well-educated skilled specialists. A steadily growing
number of global players and medium-sized companies are
set-ting up business here or moving their corporate headquarters to
Berlin and the capital region, to take advantage of these location
assets. With over 220 companies, Berlin is also a leading global
location in the biotechnology sector and the pharmaceuticals
in-dustry has created a close, innovative network with these partners.
The Berlin-Brandenburg region has an outstanding position in
sev-eral sectors that the experts certify as having a strong growth
outlook due to their excellence in innovation.
The pharmaceuticals sector's innovative excellence pays doubly
for Berlin-Brandenburg, which is also one of the country's
lead-ing research locations. The partnership between pharmaceuticals
companies, clinics and hospitals and scientific institutions
guar-antees ultra modern patient healthcare of a uniquely high quality,
and the innovations of the pharmaceuticals companies are
creat-ing and securcreat-ing the jobs of the future for the region.
The current investment and activities of the local
pharmaceuti-cals sector are proof of Berlin's appeal and bear witness to the
companies' commitment to the capital region.
Bayer
has paid
billions to conclude the takeover of Norwegian cancer treatment
specialists Algeta. Bayer made the move to strengthen its position
in the tumor medication area. The company is also increasing its
commitment to young, innovative technology companies. In May
2014, it launched the CoLaborator incubator program. An
incu-bator model for biotechnology start-ups, CoLaborator was tested
in San Francisco (Mission Bay) two years ago. In the specially
equipped research building, up to 10 innovative biotechnology
companies can now get to work – thanks to Bayer.
Within the next two years,
Berlin-Chemie
will invest €40 million in
the expansion of its location, continuing to develop its position as
one of the sector's leading employers.
In Berlin, we find an excellent scientific and commercial
envi-ronment. This is an important basis for further investments and
the expansion of our location in the south-east of the city. In
addition required extensions are planned, among others a new
building for the quality control, a new staff canteen, an
exten-sion of the office capacity for the administrative area and the
resulting infrastructural measures in the form of new roads,
paths and parking facilities for our employees.
Dr. Rainer Uppenkamp
Innovation for better health.
Our commitment
is to bring to patients around the world quality
medicines for use in diag nosing, combating and
preventing disease. Every day we work against time,
researching new pathways, new molecules, new
technologies – complementing our own capabilities
with exper tise of innovative partners from science
and industry.
The success of this work is evidenced in new
medicinesforareaswithsignificantunmetmedical
need such as oncology, cardiovascular and blood
diseases, as well as gynecology and ophthalmology.
Our aim is a better quality of life for all.
You need commitment, focus and
passion to find new ways to fight the
diseases of this world: innovation
is at the heart of it.
www.bayerhealthcare.com
www.bayerpharma.com
BioTOPics 47 | May 2014 BioTOP-Report Pharma
The partnership between
Sanofi
and Charité that began in May
2010 with a focus on the area of stroke research has proven
fruit-ful. The partners have signed an agreement to a second joint
research partnership, this time with a focus on diabetes. The
scientists and clinicians of both parties will also collaborate in a
diabetes alliance in the future. The alliance aims to improve
un-derstanding of the medical requirements and approaches to the
disease of diabetes and, in joint projects, to implement them as
therapies and make them available to patients more quickly.
After the acquisition of Nycomed in 2011,
Takeda
moved its
Ger-man headquarters to Berlin and took over the Oranienburg-based
production plant. Oranienburg has a long tradition as a location for
pharmaceuticals production. In the past 20 years, the plant there
has expanded continuously. It now has a production capacity of
7.6 billion pills and capsules per year – 98 percent of which are
exported worldwide. The Oranienburg facility is considered one
of the main competence centers within Takeda's global
produc-tion network. Takeda plans to expand the Oranienburg facility's
production capacity within the next few years.
An important new player,
Teva Specialty Medicines
, has recently
set up business in Berlin. Newly founded Teva Specialty
Medi-cines is Teva Pharmaceuticals' Original Products division in Berlin.
Its primary area of success is neurology. Teva is the leader in
generics in Germany and an expert in innovative brand business.
At a January 2014 press conference in Berlin,
Aristo Pharma
pre-sented a new formulation of a proven drug for treating severe and
extreme pain. The special formlulation was designed for targeted
retardation and 24-hour continuous analgesia when taken once a
day. Founded in 2008, the company belongs to a growing group
of German companies headquartered in Berlin.
DR. KADE
acquired Takeda’s OTC business for the German
mar-ket in April 2013. With this move, the traditional Berlin company
has added well-known brands to its current OTC portfolio and
made an investment in the future. In conjunction with the
expan-sion of its OTC business, the company has added new employees
in its Berlin and Constance locations.
PharmaMar
is a Spanish member of the Zeltia Group, a leader in
the development of anti-tumor drugs of marine origin. PharmaMar
started its activities in Germany in 2007, when the EMA granted
it marketing authorization for Yondelis
®in the treatment of soft
tis-sue sarcomas. Two years later, Yondelis
®was approved for the
treatment of ovarian cancer. In 2013, the company established
PharmaMar GmbH in Berlin.
These current examples are only an indication of the
pharmaceu-ticals industry activity in Berlin-Brandenburg – but they illustrate
the extent to which the opportunities here are multi-faceted. They
range from close partnerships with regional biotechnology
start-ups and partnerships with science to location expansion and
inward investment. The range of opportunities and the strategic
options they generate make the Berlin-Brandenburg region highly
attractive.
Dr. Hans-Christian Meyer
Site Manager
Takeda Plant Oranienburg
Pharmaceutical development and production has a long
tradi-tion in the area of Berlin-Brandenburg. The roots of our
pro-duction plant in Oranienburg trace back to the 19th century.
Today, our site plays a pivotal role as a competence center for
solid forms such as tablets and capsules within the worldwide
pharmaceutical production network of Takeda. The support
of the Investitionsbank des Landes Brandenburg helps us to
further expand production capabilities, be prepared for future
growth and create new jobs.
Alfonso Casal
CEO
PharmaMar GmbH
Our presence in Germany, the European State Member with
the largest population in the EU and strong research
capa-bilities is an important step in our European expansion. From
our offices in Berlin we coordinate our commercial operations
as well as supporting other corporate activities in Germany.
Berlin as Capital city, with important competence centers for
the treatment of cancer and strong international orientation
represents a very good opportunity for the development of our
activities.
For more information:
BERLIN-CHEMIE AG · Glienicker Weg 125 · 12489 Berlin
Phone: +49
30
6707-0 · www.berlin-chemie.de
Modern research, development and manufacturing
of innovative medicines in Berlin-Adlershof – this is
what BERLIN-CHEMIE stands for. Research and
production are based not only on our experience of
over one hundred years but also on our successful
search for new therapeutic pathways and
possibili-ties. The success we have gained around the world
and the growth of BERLIN-CHEMIE are an
endorse-ment of our high standards.
BioTOPics 47 | May 2014 BioTOP-Report Glycoscience
Glycoscience
Glyco Research for Innovations in Health Industry
Alongside genome and proteome research, the study of sugars glycoscience, is increasingly gaining importance.
As our knowledge about the function of sugar structures in a variety of biological processes grows, the areas of
application for glycoscience are also growing and affecting other fields in the Healthcare Industries cluster such as
diagnostics, drug development, regenerative medicine and industrial biotechnology. Sugars can develop complex
structures, glycans, and can be even bound to proteins – in which case they are called glycoproteins. Glycans
are important for a wide variety of biological processes. They control cell-cell communication and the function and
stability of proteins, and play an important role in the immune response. Carbohydrate metabolism malfunctions
are typically associated with neurodegenerative diseases, infections and cancer.
Exploiting high potential for interdisciplinary
technologies
Glycan structures, as molecules expressed due to illness, can
be used as significant diagnostic parameters and can serve as
differentiation markers for regenerative medicine. Glycan-based
molecules can also be used as vaccines e.g. for malaria and HIV.
Glycoscience also contributes to the development of drugs,
in-novative foods and human-compatible biomaterials. When
con-sidering the diverse application fields of glycoscience, it is
ap-parent that the capital region occupies an outstanding position.
Berlin-Brandenburg is a technology leader in the chemical
syn-thesis of glycans, and in glycan analytics it offers
international-ly significant expertise. We also provide excellent conditions for
applications in the fields with high cross-innovation potential. The
region is a leading international location for research and
devel-opment in diagnostics and the implementation of clinical studies
and also has highly productive drug and nutrition research. With
the university hospital Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin globally
acknowledged medical expertise is also present in the region.
Establishing a glyco hub in the capital region
Research, whether university-related, independent or clinical,
forms the outstanding scientific basis of the region. The Charité
has been honing its expertise in the fields of glycoanalytics and
glycodesign for many years. The director of the Max Planck
In-stitute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam (MPIKG) and
inter-nationally renowned glycoscientist Professor Peter Seeberger
discovered and developed the total synthesis of complex
carbo-hydrates. GlykoUniverse, a spin-off company, will distribute the
completely automated carbohydrate synthesizer. There are other
excellent companies in the region as well. Located in Berlin,
Scie-nion GmbH is distinguished in the field of glycan microarray
tech-nology for molecular diagnostics. Glycotope GmbH is specialized
in optimizing sugar structures of glycoproteins and developing
therapeutic antibodies for cancer cells. In the wake of a strong
growth period in recent years and the acquisition of €55 million
in venture capital, Glycotope now has over 180 employees and
is a world leader in glycobiotechnology. The objective is to turn
Berlin-Brandenburg into a leading international center for
glyco-science research and translation for the development of
diagnos-tic and pharmaceudiagnos-tical products, cell-based therapies and new
materials for medical applications by employing an expansion
strategy. We will also be working to intensify the technology
trans-fer based on regional networks and stabilize the communication
between science and industry.
GlycanForum, the international conference that takes place in
Ber-lin every year, presents the current status and outlook for
glycosci-ence in biomedicine. It is organized with the support of the Center
for Molecular Diagnostics and Bioanalysis (ZMDB) and BioTOP
Berlin-Brandenburg. The most important conference in the world
with regard to glycoscience, GlycanForum is an outstanding open
exchange platform for business, industry and users. With a
sub-theme of "The leading scientists of Asia," the 7th conference in
2013 was focused on the topics of healthcare, material science,
analytics and synthesis.
Dr. Véronique Blanchard
Head of Glycoanalytics working group at the Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Chemistry and Pathobiochemistry, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin
As a location for glycoscience, the capital region is unique in
Europe. You find the entire spectrum here, from basic research
to manufacturing industry, which creates the ideal conditions
for efficiently translating research innovations to industry and
clinics. At Charité, we are researching the potential of
glycan-based biomarkers in tumor diagnostics and in bioanalytics for
the quality assurance of stem cell preparation, and developing
a glycan microarray platform for diagnostics.
With more than 15 years of experience, Portus
Corporate Finance supports technology focused
companies in all areas of financing. We base our work
on solid know-how, years of experience and reliable
business partners.
If you are looking for advise and support in the
areas of
• Company and Project Funding
• Company Succession / M&A
• Finance Management / CFO-Services
• Consulting and Coaching
• Establishment of Businesses
please don‘t hesitate to contact us!
Corporate Finance Consulting for Life Science Companies
www.PortusCo.com
Portus Corporate Finance GmbH
Friedrichstr. 81
D-10117 Berlin
Tel
(030) 700 800 900
Fax
(030) 700 800 901
Email info@PortusCo.com
With more than 15 years of experience, Portus
Corporate Finance supports technology focused
companies in all areas of financing. We base our work
on solid know-how, years of experience and reliable
business partners.
If you are looking for advise and support in the
areas of
• Company and Project Funding
• Company Succession / M&A
• Finance Management / CFO-Services
• Consulting and Coaching
• Establishment of Businesses
please don‘t hesitate to contact us!
Corporate Finance Consulting for Life Science Companies
www.PortusCo.com
Portus Corporate Finance GmbH
Friedrichstr. 81
D-10117 Berlin
Tel
(030) 700 800 900
Fax
(030) 700 800 901
Email info@PortusCo.com
We have offices in Berlin/Bremen/Cologne/Frankfurt/Hamburg/Munich/Stuttgart
For further information please contact Dr. Ulla Peters
UHY Deutschland AG · Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft · Zimmerstraße 23 · 10969 Berlin
Phone +49 30 226593-0 · Fax +49 30 22679050 · www.uhy-deutschland.de · www.uhy.com
UHY Deutschland AG is a joint venture of long established
auditing and consulting firms with a total of 250 employees
and partners.
As a member of UHY International, a global association of
independent accounting and consulting firms with over
7,600 employees, we can provide audit, accounting, tax
and consulting services in 275 business centres across the
globe.
UHY Deutschland AG has extensive experience in financial
and consulting services for life sciences companies for
many years.
We offer the following services:
• Audits of financial and consolidated statements
under the German Commercial Code (HGB) and IFRS
• Accounting & Reporting
• Due diligence (financial and tax) and business valuations
• Consulting services on IPOs
• Business Advisory
• Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)
• German and international taxation
BioTOPics 47 | May 2014 BioTOP-Report Bioelectronics
Bioelectronics
The Joint Lab Bioelectronics –
A New Platform for the Integration of
Microelectronics into Life Sciences
The introduction of new experimental techniques causes a major advantage in the field of biology. Well-known
examples are the invention of optical and electron microscopy, without which the fundamental structures of life as
cells and cell organelles could not have been discovered. The next paradigm shift may very well be triggered by
applying microelectronics – and its developing field of bioelectronics – at its interdisciplinary interface with the life
sciences.
This positive outlook is mainly a result of the phenomenon called
“scaling” in microelectronics: for the last few decades, minimum
feature dimensions have continuously become smaller by a
fac-tor of around two every second year. At first glance, this seems
to be a minor development relating to an uninteresting technical
parameter, since we have become accustomed to working with
increasingly powerful computers and to storing higher and higher
data volumes on a single flash memory. For the life sciences,
how-ever, scaling is a major advance. It has taken microelectronics or
more accurately, nanoelectronics, to the same structural levels at
which the molecular mechanisms of life operate.
Particularly interesting perspectives arise for biosensorics, in
which semiconductor preparation technology can be applied to
the fabrication of cost-effective diagnostic systems.
Bioelectron-ics is also significant for the process analytical techniques (PAT)
for monitoring, regulating and increasing the efficiency of
biopro-cesses. The Berlin-Brandenburg region is eager to take
advan-tage of this development and therefore, IHP in Frankfurt (Oder)
and the TU Berlin Institute of Biotechnology have founded Joint
Lab Bioelectronics. This step will intensify the interdisciplinary
ex-change between the two disciplines and expand biotechnology
students’ knowledge of the basics of microelectronics.
JANUARY 2013
Charité and FU are jointly successful in the competition "EXIST-Gründungskultur – Die Gründerhochschule" of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology +++ German Research Foundation extends collaborative research centre (SBF 650) at Charité – ten million Euros for research on immunological therapy
FEBRUARY 2013
Humboldt research award gets Ivy-League professor Klaas van Wijk to Potsdam
+++ Biopolymers – strong future field with high potential for innovation presents itself in Schorfheide
MARCH 2013
Hasso-Plattner-Institut speeds up personalised medicine with new data bank technology +++ Integrative Research Institute for Life Sciences (IRI) founded in Berlin +++ Paul Ehrlich- and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize goes to MDC scientist Dr. James Poulet
APRIL 2013
Charité and Sorbonne found Virchow-Villermé Centre for Public Health +++ EU-OPENSCREEN included in the new BMBF-roadmap for large research infrastruc-tures
MAY 2013
New laboratory building of MDC opened – named after physiologist Max Rubner
+++ Stem cell researchers in Germany pool their expertise. They found the Ger-man Stem Cell Network (GSCN) on May 7th 2013 +++ Evaluators praise Berlin
Institute of Health (BIH). Enst Theodor Rietschel becomes chairman
JUNE 13
BIH officially opened +++ Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin once more reach-es rank 1 of Focus-ranking "Germany's breach-est hospital"
JULY 2013
Prof. Angelika Eggert receives Einstein professorship and takes over as head of the Children's Clinic with focal areas of oncology and hematology +++ Scien-tists from the A*STAR Genome Institute Singapore and the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics (MPIMG) in Berlin decode the communication network in human embryonic stem cells +++ Scientists from Charité and the MDC, working in cooperation with colleagues in Kiel, Boston, Zurich and London, discover a new gene for hereditary heart failure +++ Scientists working with Peter Seeberger (MPIKG) in Potsdam-Golm have developed a simple, cheap and reliable test for Yersinia pestis, the bacteria that caused the plague
AUGUST 2013
1000th protein structure decoded at BESSY II +++ The World Health Summit 2013 in Berlin in August 2013 discussed solutions for global healthcare with regard to “Research and Innovation.” +++ BPI and vfa present national plans of action for
the quick diagnosis and more effective treatment of rare diseases
SEPTEMBER 2013
Scientists at Charité and MDC discover sugar withdrawal as an innovative cancer therapy approach +++ Technische Universität Berlin and Leibniz Institute IHP Frankfurt (Oder) have established Joint Lab Bioelectronics, a laboratory for joint interdisciplinary research +++ Charité and Harvard sign a cooperation agree-ment aimed at accelerating clinical translation, primarily in the cell and tissue technology field +++ Prof. Annette Grüters-Kieslich, Charité Dean, receives the
Prof. Dr. Peter Neubauer
Technische Universität Berlin Institute for Biotechnology Chair for Bioprocess Engineering
The Joint Lab Bioelectronics aims to advance the field of
Bio-Process Analytical Technologies by connecting sensor
spe-cialists and bioengineers.
21
BioTOPics 47 | May 2014 BioTOP-Report BioelectronicsThe Leibniz Institute IHP – Innovations for High Performance
Micro
electronics – in Frankfurt (Oder) is part of the Leibniz
Association and has a long tradition in the area of silicon-based
microelectronics. The IHP has a clean room at its disposal for the
pilot serial production of 200-mm Si wafers in which microchips
are processed at the 0.25 and 0.13 µm structure levels. A family of
SiGe: C-based hetero bipolar transistors for realizing frequencies
in the low 100 GHz range is the core of IHP technology. As part
of IHP’s multi-project wafer services, external customers may use
the technology for the fabrication of application-specific
integrat-ed circuits.
The TU Bioprocess Engineering chair conducts research on the
characterization of industrial-scale bioprocesses and methods for
consistent, faster bioprocess development. The chair runs a
bio-process pilot plant with advanced analytical instruments, on-line
instrumentation and an analytical laboratory for comprehensive
metabolomics analysis. Its key instruments are proprietary,
scale-down two- and three-compartment bioreactors, which enable the
simulation of large-scale industrial processes in the lab. The
char-acterization of biogas plants, brewery reactors and reactors in
industrial biotechnology with new PAT and model-based process
control for improving their robustness are a major focus. For this
highest honor offered by ESPE, the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinol-ogy: the Andrea Prader Award +++ New Helmholtz post-graduate school for researching biomaterials opens
OCTOBER 2013
Fraunhofer researchers receive an international award for ArtCornea®, their
artificial cornea +++ The capital has healthcare in focus: Berlin Health Week celebrates its launch +++ Sanofi endows two new professorships in the public health field at Centre Virchow-Villermé, the newly established German-French research institute, in its Berlin and Paris locations +++ Charité opens the inten-sive care station of the future
NOVEMBER 2013
NeuroProAllianz receives Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau research award Dr. Jean-Yves +++ K. Tano from the University of Toledo arrives in Berlin after receiving an Alexander von Humboldt fellowship +++ Charité coordinates the national network of biobanks +++ Immunologist Prof. Klaus Rajewsky from MDC Berlin awarded the Society for Signal Transduction medal of honor
DECEMBER 2013
Charité opens pioneering robotics operating room +++ Scientists from Charité present new approaches toward improving breast cancer therapy as part of the RESPONSIFY EU research project
JANUARY 2014
Under the leadership of Cornelia Weikert from the German Institute of Human Nutrition (DIfE), a team of scientists has discovered a new biomarker for heart
failure in the general population +++ Researchers at MDC Berlin have acquired new knowledge of the body's regulation of insulin production for insulin resis-tance, the root of type 2 diabetes +++ The biochemist and protein crystallogra-pher Prof. Oliver Daumke from MDC Berlin-Buch receives European Research Council funding worth millions +++ BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg strengthens bio-materials research network with Helmholtz Center Geesthacht in Teltow
FEBRUARY 2014
MPIKGPotsdam director Prof. Peter Seeberger and the director of the NII in New Dehli, India agree to intensify their partnership for researching infec-tious diseases +++ Researchers at MDC decipher the creation of new forms of hereditary Alzheimer’s disease and discover new protective mechanisms
+++ Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Moldcular Plant Physiology in Potsdam-Golm discover new adapter proteins for the reception of substances in plant cellss +++ The Berlin Institute of Health (BIG) acquires Thomas Südhof, Noble Prize for medicine co-awardee, as visiting fellow
MARCH 2014
Two dozen Fraunhofer Society institutes establish the Big Data Alliance +++
MDC receives 3-Tesla MRI scanner for the largest long-term German popula-tion study +++ MDC researchers discover the molecular switch for epilepsy
APRIL 2014
Berlin Institute for Health Research launches first research projects +++ Hans-Hilger Ropers awarded with the “EURORDIS Scientific Award 2014” for his research on rare diseases
PD Dr. Mario Birkholz
Head of Joint Lab Bioelectronics IHP GmbH
Leibniz-Institut für innovative Mikroelektronik
By establishing the IHP and TUB Joint Lab Bioelectronics, we
have created the opportunity for a successful interdisciplinary
partnership. Through it, we will be able to translate the
prog-ress made in microelectronics directly into biotechnological
applications and university education.
BioTOPics 47 | May 2014 BioTOP-Report Bioelectronics
purpose, new lance- and rope-based mobile sensor and
sam-pling systems that can be directly applied to analyze
concentra-tion gradients have been developed.
A robot-based mini pilot plant has also been established for
pro-cess development in micro-plate and mini-bioreactor cultures.
This highly automated facility focuses on processes with
genet-ically engineered microorganisms. Extensive analyses are
au-tomatically performed on tens to hundreds of cultivations in μl
and ml formats. The laboratory pioneered the EnBase
®controlled
substrate delivery technology, which is instrumental for consistent
bioprocess development and a key element in this
high-through-put (HT) automated industrial reference laboratory.
Joint Lab Bioelectronics’ mission is to introduce new biosensor
technologies. This work focuses on the adaption of the sensor
system to the particular biotech application. The starting point is
the sensor chips developed at IHP, including a fully embedded
microelectromechanical system (MEMS) for affinity assays and a
cell sensor operated via impedance spectroscopy (see Fig. 1).
However, the biochips fabricated in semiconductor fabs require
special packaging before being introduced into bioprocesses
with an emphasis on hermiticity and must be shielded against
corrosion from the liquid bio milieu.
The demand for microsensors for applications in microfluidic
platforms has jumped in recent years. Many applications rely on
polymer devices, because most companies and scientific
work-ing groups have almost no access to microelectronic fabrication
techniques. Joint Lab Bioelectronics follows the approach of
de-veloping and supplying biotechnological platform modules that
combine equal shares of microelectronic and microfluidic
com-ponents.
Bioprocess engineering is one promising field of application for
miniaturized sensors. Industrial bioprocess development faces
the challenge of reducing the risks, costs and timeframe of new
product launch. In the pharmaceuticals industry in particular, the
regulatory authorities expect dossiers to be based on knowledge
that derives from careful sensing (PAT). Consequently, future
bi-oprocess development will consist of HT technologies based on
miniaturizing, parallelization, automation and intense monitoring.
Joint Lab Bioelectronics is a perfect match for the Bioprocess
Engineering chair’s HT lab, where platform technologies are
de-veloped to comply with the above-mentioned needs. This lab is
Figure 1. Affinity-viscosimetric microsensor chip with fully embeddedMEMS (X-shaped beams on the left) und calibration curves for glucose concentration measurements it has taken, Birkholz et al., J. Appl. Phys. 113 (2013) 24
