Guest participant at DIHK Healthcare Industry Committee

BIO Deutschland was a guest at the November meeting of the Healthcare Industry Committee of the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), giving a talk that provided insights into the role of biotechnology in the industrial healthcare sector. With revenues of €11 billion and an annual growth rate of 5.4 percent, biotechnology makes a sizeable contribution to the gross value added of this sector. This technology field accounts for 13.6 percent of the gross value added of the entire industrial healthcare sector. Other guests included Tino Sorge, Member of the Bundestag for CDU/CSU, and Florian von der Mülbe from CureVac. The DIHK is the umbrella organisation of the 79 Chambers of Industry and Commerce (IHKs) in Germany. Their common goal is to create the best conditions for successful business operations. At the national and European level, the DIHK represents the interests of the entire commercial sector vis-à-vis politics, administration and the public. Several million businesses in the trade, industry and service sectors are members of an IHK by law – from kiosk operators to DAX-listed companies. The DIHK and IHKs thus provide a platform for the diverse interests of German companies. These interests are combined in an established procedure with a statutory basis in order to present common positions for German business and help shape economic policymaking.