Eva Luise Köhler Receives Donation to the “Orphans of Medicine”

For the second time, BIO Deutschland has donated the entire proceeds of its benefit event - over €11,800 - to the German Alliance for Rare Diseases (ACHSE). Eva Luise Köhler, patron of ACHSE, received the cheque in Bellevue Palace in mid-April.

At the handing-over of the cheque to Eva Luise Köhler, Peter Heinrich, Chairman of the Board of BIO Deutschland, said that a large number of biotechnology companies worldwide was working on research and development of innovative drugs, especially for rare diseases. He pointed out that the young sector wanted to demonstrate social responsibility, also during economically turbulent periods, and that this was the reason why it was happy to undertake charity work on behalf of ACHSE.

Viola Bronsema, Managing Director of BIO Deutschland, emphasised to Eva Luise Köhler the importance of the repeated social activities of the biotech sector on behalf of ACHSE as a signal to society: "Last year was certainly not easy for the biotechnology industry, which has been negatively effected by the capital markets crisis. Its contribution in support of the some four million people suffering from chronic illnesses should therefore be even more underlined."

Over 100 people attended the benefit event held in Berlin on 11 December 2009. The guests included many representatives of biotechnology companies and sector service suppliers, representatives from politics, the public authorities and science, as well as the press and Berlin society. The event was supported by the companies, Celegne, Lorenz Archivsysteme and Miltenyi Biotec, as well as by the Staatsoper Unter den Linden and the Hotel de Rome.