Biotop-report 2012

Research is carried out here 

Our research focuses on: analytical chemistry, pharmaceutical 

development and clinical research. Our findings lead to innovative 

and proven quality compounds. In this way, we improve quality of 

life for many people. 

Here we produce ... 

The main focus of our product portfolio is medication for pain and 

diabetes therapy as well as for the treatment of disease relating to 

the cardiac and circulatory system or the thyroid gland.  

Patients have placed their trust in our medicines for over 100 years. 

From here we apply our know how on the market ... 

Especially in the eastern European markets; there we have over 31 

representative offices. We supply patients worldwide within the 

Italian Menarini Group network.  

BERLIN-CHEMIE, a company in the Menarini Group, stands for 

tradition and innovation from Berlin. 

Tradition and Innovation based in Berlin

For more information: 

BERLIN-CHEMIE AG · Glienicker Weg 125 · 12489 Berlin

Phone: [phone] · www.berlin-chemie.de

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44

BioTOPics 44 | May 2012 

BioTOP-Report

Global Business

The Role of Berlin-Brandenburg in the 

European Context

Internationalisation was the main watchword for the Bioregion Berlin-Brandenburg in 2011. The reason is not 

hard to recognise: the region’s biotechnology companies earn the majority of their income abroad, and that 

share is rising! Companies in the industry need to look beyond national boundaries – and that applies even 

for very small ones. Especially they, however, often find it hard to implement an international strategy without 

customised external support.

Internationalisation and the challenges it presents were ad-

dressed at an early stage by both European and regional poli-

cies. At the European level, the new research funding programme 

Horizon 2020, which is to replace the old FP7, is of prime im-

portance. The European Commission is not only committed to 

promoting the increased integration of research-intensive SMEs 

in European funding programmes, but regards that as essential. 

The details of the programme are currently being defined. Two 

things are already clear: 

1. Horizon 2020 will incorporate and harmonise all EU research 

funding activities, have a total funding volume of 80 billion 

Euros and devote a large share of those funds to the support 

of innovative SMEs.

2. Berlin and Brandenburg are currently positioning themselves 

to ensure that their interests will be secured by H2020 and 

be prepared to benefit from the programme when it enters 

into operation.

At the regional level, the increasing importance of internationali-

sation was also an important theme at the 4th Innovation Summit 

of Berlin and Brandenburg in August 2011. Here, Brandenburg’s 

Minister for Economic and European Affairs, Ralf Christoffers, 

launched a passionate appeal to the summit participants to seize 

the opportunities Europe provides and make use of the potential 

they offer.

Berlin meets Brussels

This appeal is reflected in the theme of this year’s ‘Dialogforum’, 

a joint annual event of the states of Berlin and Brandenburg with 

the European Commission which was first held in 2007. Under 

the title “Improving Health for the Ageing Society” entrepreneurs 

from Berlin-Brandenburg in the fields of molecular diagnostics, 

medical engineering and regenerative medicine will engage in 

discussion with high-ranking representatives from European in-

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45

BioTOPics 44 | May 2012 

 Global Business 

BioTOP-Report 

stitutions and other life science regions in Brussels on 30 May 

2012. The aim of the event is, on the one hand, to present in-

novative project proposals in the life sciences and receive direct 

feedback from the Commission‘s experts and programme direc-

tors. At the same time, the Commission is to receive first-hand 

reports about the experience of the companies represented with 

EU institutions and their funding instruments. This also provides 

companies with an opportunity to present their own input for 

the design of future funding programmes like Horizon 2020 and 

secure good positions on the starting line as funding candidates. 

The event is truly European in character due to the participation 

of many European SMEs and regional representatives from Den-

mark, France, the United Kingdom, Belgium and Sweden with 

whom Berlin-Brandenburg has networked intensively for many 

years and already cooperated in a range of projects. The dinner 

reception at the "Dialogforum" presents an exclusive opportunity 

for direct exchange with these European partners and with ex-

perts and politicians from Berlin-Brandenburg and the European 

Union. 

European networks – Old friends, new formats

Active cooperation in the networks of Europe’s BioRegions has 

played a central role in the internationalisation efforts in our re-

gion. BioTOP Berlin-Brandenburg is a founding member of the 

networks Council of European Bioregions (CEBR) and ScanBalt 

– a biotech network of the Baltic Sea states that celebrated its 

10th anniversary in Heringsdorf on the island of Usedom in 2011. 

Through the Center for Molecular Diagnostics and Bioanalytics 

(ZMDB), the region is also a founding member of the still young 

European Diagnostic Clusters Alliance (EDCA), a network of lead-

ing European diagnostics clusters which currently represents 

more than 400 companies from the member regions. As the only 

German region in this network to date, Berlin-Brandenburg is re-

garded as one of the most high-performing regions in the alliance 

as regards both the number of companies and research facilities 

engaged in diagnostics development and the structures already 

established here (the ZMDB as a coordination platform and driver 

with a very clear focus). A main goal of this new European al-

liance is to provide targeted support to companies in the field 

of in-vitro diagnostics by means of customised support offers, 

activities and formats. The first attempt to combine European 

partnering especially for diagnostics companies with a regional 

conference was successfully made with the Euromediag Interna-

tional Convention (EIC) in summer 2011. With 127 participants 

from seven European countries, and 237 B-2-B meetings, the 

event made a promising start. The sequel will take place in June 

2012 at the 4

th

 Berlin-Brandenburg Technology Forum on In-vitro 

Diagnostics and Bioanalysis, which is being co-organised by the 

region’s Enterprise Europe Network, setting a positive signal for 

Berlin-Brandenburg and Europe.

A success story from Berlin-Brandenburg: 

The Trilateral Event 2011

As in the years before, scientists from France, Britain and Ger-

many met in the French Embassy in Berlin in September 2011 

for one and a half days of expert exchanges on the theme of 

„Innovative Health-Promoting Food“. 

Discussion focused on the latest research, developments and ap-

plications in the fields of nutrigenomics and functional food. Now 

running in its 7th year, the event is gaining recognition both as 

a high-level expert forum and as a partnering platform for sci-

entific cooperation in Europe that is finding increasing interest 

among many target groups throughout Europe.

Dr. Stéphane Roy

Scientific Attaché

French Embassy in Germany

The reinforcement of the partnership between France and 

Germany in the field of biomedical research is a key element 

of our strategy with BioTOP. The goal is to exchange the know-

how of different partners and develop new collaborations in 

cutting edge fields. This approach has proven highly success-

ful for the last ten years.

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