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%