Comment by BIO Deutschland on the BioEconomyCouncil Report

BIO Deutschland welcomed the tribute paid to the role of biotechnological inventions and products by the Bio-Economy Research and Technology Council (BioEconomyCouncil). The council, which was set up last year, submitted its first report to the Federal Ministers, Annette Schavan (Education and Research) and Ilse Aigner (Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection), in Berlin in September.

In the view of the biotech industry sector association, BIO Deutschland, the document over-emphasises the topic of biomass. However, it does highlight the contribution made by biotechnology to the development of new biological products and processes. “At the same time, the previous and future contribution made by innovative small and medium-sized enterprises is not presented clearly enough,” criticised Peter Heinrich, Chairman of the Board of BIO Deutschland. He added, “Germany’s biotech sector is already working on clean, CO_2–reduced production processes and optimised agricultural products, as well as on healthier foodstuffs.”

The report recommends the formation of “unusual alliances” between companies from different sectors and of different sizes in order to make use of research synergies. Peter Heinrich commented that this is positive because this type of cooperation safeguards an effective and wide diversity of innovative products and processes. He said that the development of medical biotechnology had shown what a vital contribution in terms of innovations is made by small and medium-sized enterprises that conduct research.