Annual meeting of the Health – Made in Germany export initiative held in Berlin

Poto: Front row from right to left: Regina Wierig, head of sub-department ZB (BMWi); Harald Kuhne, head of Directorate-General Z (BMWi); Marion Lükemann, head of GTAI’s Health – Made in Germany export initiative; third row, second from left: Claudia Englbrecht (BIO Deutschland). © Illing & Vossbeck Fotografie / Health – Made in Germany.

Members of the Health – Made in Germany export initiative met on 12 July at the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) in Berlin for their annual meeting. For more than five years, the export initiative has been actively helping associations and companies to boost their export activities. The initiative includes four working groups focused on different areas of the healthcare industry: pharmaceuticals, medical technology, telemedicine and medical biotechnology (the latter of which BIO Deutschland participates in). Harald Kuhne, head of the BMWi’s Central Administration department, opened the meeting. Along with representatives from associations, additional representatives of the BMWi as well as the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control and the Federal Foreign Office took part in the discussions. The export initiative reported on the diverse activities of the working groups, such as the preparation of company directories (biotech contract manufacturing and research) and market studies (United States) and trade show participation (United States, Israel and Japan). In addition, an assessment of the initiative was presented that showed the stated goals had been reached, but that the initiative’s visibility could be further improved by stepping up its public relations efforts, for example. BMWi representatives highlighted the numerous additional activities of the ministry in the area of healthcare and encouraged the associations to give further input and suggestions to help boost exports in the sector.