Bio Deutschland Publishes a Position Paper with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation

In mid-July, BIO Deutschland e.V. and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation published a position paper, "Biotechnology in Germany", in which the two organisations argued in favour of strengthening small and medium-sized enterprises. The aim of the paper is to express the need for improvements in the biotechnology sector in concrete terms.

In an interview on this topic with the editors of the foundation’s website www.kas.de, the CEO of Noxxon Pharma AG, Frank Morich, said, "We have a large number of highly qualified positions in our company. Over half of our almost forty employees have an academic qualification. Of course, this has certain effects on the labour market. So I think that we are of very, very great importance to the labour market and innovation, but also in terms of policies concerning the location of industry and innovation."

In the last decades, biotechnology has developed in a very positive way. This is true for both research and economic applications – the biotechnology sector is growing worldwide, leading to many positive economic impacts. The sector makes a decisive contribution to the improvement of medical care and to making production processes both more environmentally-friendly and cost-effective.

The chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary party group in the Standing Committee on Education and Research at the German Bundestag, Michael Kretschmer, also said in the interview with the editors of www.kas.de, "Biotechnology in Germany is very strongly characterised by small and extremely small companies. Most of the companies have fewer than fifty employees. This is an opportunity because naturally they are quicker and more innovative as they can react to developments with greater flexibility. However, when there are financial difficulties, they are significantly more vulnerable than larger companies. This is why the state should bear responsibility for creating the parameters in such a way that the required equity constantly reaches these companies via investment in companies. To achieve this, not just now but also in the future, we need to design sensible tax legislation and apply write-off options correctly."

The most important steps needed to achieve this are outlined in the position paper. The document focuses on small and medium-sized enterprises as an important economic factor complementing large, globally active companies. Many of the suggestions contained in the hypotheses put forward in the paper also apply beyond biotechnology to other innovative sectors and the small and medium-sized enterprises active in them.

The position paper is available at http://www.biodeutschland.org/thesenpapier/thesenpapier.php. You can read the complete interviews with Frank Morich and Michael Kretschmer at http://www.kas.de/biotechnologie-in-deutschland.

You are also welcome to order a printed copy of the paper (in German only) from BIO Deutschland’s office. Please call us on +49-30-345 0593-30.