Biotop-report 2013

Life Sciences.

Living Research. 

Berlin. Brandenburg.

A vibrant network

Berlin-Brandenburg is one of Europe’s leading locations for the 

Life Sciences. It is also an R&D capital that magnetically attracts 

the world’s top scientists. Here you’ll find attractive subsidy condi-

tions, close linkages between business and science, the highest 

concentration of R&D in Europe, a dynamic startup scene and a 

multifaceted entrepreneurial environment made up of more than 

500 pharmaceutical, biotech and medical engineering companies. 

Come discover this one-of-a-kind landscape for scientists and 

entrepreneurs.

www.healthcapital.de 

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BioTOPics 46 | September 2013 

BioTOP-Report

Technology Transfer

Technology Transfer between 

Science and Business

Project concepts in the life sciences are usually very complex. It may sometimes take decades until ideas and 

insights from basic research can be made available for commercial use. Many initiatives now exist which aim to 

accelerate that process and render the usually non-linear development processes more systematic. This applies 

to the research location Berlin-Brandenburg in particular. The capital region’s unique research and university 

landscape possesses an enormous potential in terms of knowledge and ideas, which can be converted into new 

product developments. The German federal government and the states have recognised the need for technolo-

gy transfer instruments and programmes. A number of programmes to support patent commercialisation, uni-

versity spin-offs and cooperation between research facilities and companies have already been implemented. 

Vouchers for Transfer

Close cooperation between science and industry is a key precon-

dition for successful transfer of technological knowledge from ac-

ademic research into companies. Cooperative ventures between 

SMEs and research facilities are supported by the “TransferBO-

NUS” programme in Berlin and the “Innovation Voucher” initia-

tive in Brandenburg. They reduce the financial costs incurred by 

companies which award research assignments and ease their 

access to the latest insights in science and research. These two 

funding programmes thereby help improve the participating 

companies’ innovation capacity and competitiveness and hence 

secure a successful future for them. Up to 70 % of the contract 

volume of research services can be supported in this way, with a 

maximum of 15,000 Euros. Both programmes have been taken 

up very well: In the health economy sector, twelve TransferBonus 

projects were funded in 2012, while Brandenburg help launched 

six projects with its Innovation Vouchers. 

i2m: Ideas to Market

Projects in science usually aim to generate research results. Their 

developments therefore often end at a point where it is hard to 

convince investors and licensees that they can be translated into 

a product. Scientists find it difficult to assess the commercial val-

ue of their ideas, and what is usually lacking is also the “proof of 

concept”, in other words: the validation of their idea. This is the 

initial point of action of the project i2m (“ideas to market”) spon-

sored by the states of Berlin and Brandenburg. i2m aims to trans-

fer promising projects more quickly from the academic sphere to 

commercial application and thereby close the gap between pub-

licly funded academic basic research and industrial development. 

The initiative specifically addresses scientists in basic research 

and project developers who had few opportunities for commer-

cialisation to date. For every project, the aim is to jointly develop 

the proof that efficient implementation is feasible. “Impfzervix” 

at the Charité is one of the projects supported. It aims to achieve 

accelerated development of a therapeutic vaccine for gentle 

treatment of cervical cancer. i2m supported the project launch 

and funding application and thereby helped procure 1.5 million 

Euros in support funding. More than 30 projects were supported 

Dr. Rolf Strittmatter

Managing Director

ZukunftsAgentur Brandenburg GmbH

With its innovation vouchers, the State of Brandenburg is 

helping small and mid-sized companies establish and extend 

contacts with universities and other academic institutions 

by supporting small research and development projects. The 

aim of this successful programme is to create stronger ties 

between business and science, overcome barriers and foster 

innovations based on cooperation. More than 300 innovation 

vouchers were assigned since 2010. They enable companies 

in Brandenburg to buy research expertise and obtain support 

funding of up to € 15.000. More than 30 of the initiatives 

supported to date were health sector projects on themes 

ranging from software development for health applications, 

design solutions for patient care and new telemedical appli-

cations. They all document the increasing interconnection 

between the health economy and adjacent sectors.

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31

BioTOPics 46 | September 2013 

BioTOP-Report

 Technology Transfer 

successfully to date, and it has become clear that i2m can trigger 

a cascade of development steps in many projects helping to bring 

the respective product to market.

“Entrepreneurial Network University”

In the life sciences, Freie Universität (FU) Berlin and Charité – 

Universitätsmedizin Berlin benefit from the nationwide compe-

tition “EXIST – University-Based Business Start-Ups”. For their 

concept of an “Entrepreneurial Network University” (ENU) they 

received 2.8 million Euros from the German Federal Ministry of 

Economics and Technology. The two institutions can now imple-

ment the concept with support funding until 2018. They have 

cooperated in founder promotion since 2009. This cooperation 

is now to move to a new dimension under the umbrella of the 

ENU and to be extended to additional partners. Special attention 

will be devoted to the consolidation of IT-technologies with appli-

cations in the health sector into the joint focus health-IT, as the 

interface between the life sciences and IT is gaining increasing 

importance to the development of innovative medical processes 

and products.

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: [phone]

www.ibb-bet.de

Selected portfolio companies:

Prof. Dr. Peter-André Alt

President of Freie Universität Berlin (FU)

With our Entrepreneurial Network University, we want to 

promote networking between science and industry and the 

founder spirit among young people. The joint founding activi-

ties of Freie Universität Berlin and the Charité will concentrate 

on the health economy as a focus area. Here, we can benefit 

from existing networks, sector initiatives and events, from the 

companies already located here, from outstanding extramural 

research facilities and from the initiatives of the cluster man-

agement unit HealthCapital. And we also want to contribute 

our own initiatives. One example: in the United States, private 

incubators like ‘Health Box’ and ‘Rock Health’ already utilize 

the increasing founder potential on the interface between IT 

and the health sector. The ENU will be the first German univer-

sity to establish a pre-incubator for this business field.

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