Interdisciplinary Conference on the Promotion of Technology Transfer in Biotechnology

Technology transfer within the value-added chain in the biotechnology sector was the topic of an interdisciplinary conference initiated by BIO Deutschland and held in Heidelberg at the end of April.

The Rhein-Neckar Biotechnology Cluster and the German Cancer Research Centre co-organised and hosted the conference in cooperation with BioTOP Berlin-Brandenburg.

Over sixty representatives from science, business, finance and government met at the German Cancer Research Centre to discuss which problems concerning the transfer of new technologies and innovative product ideas from research to commercialisation currently exist, and how they can be solved.

Peter Heinrich, Chairman of the Board of BIO Deutschland, said, "Particularly in times of crisis and shortages of resources, we must ensure that the flow of innovations does not dry up. Now is a good time to create new structures for an efficient technology transfer, to improve cooperation between research institutes and small and medium-sized biotechnology companies, and to stimulate innovation." He added that the biotech sector urgently needed this shared strength, not only for periods of crisis, but also for the time following them.

According to Christian Tidona, Managing Director of BioRN Cluster Management GmbH, Germany needs to catch up with other countries: "We still have a lot to learn here, particularly in comparison with the global market leader, the USA. The most important lesson concerns how high-tech research of an internationally excellent standard can be transformed into economic value added. Technology transfer plays a decisive role in this."

Presentations on so-called signal examples of technology transfer initiatives and projects were given at chaired workshops. These case studies led to discussion about weak points and problems in technology transfer. Following the presentations, the invited experts worked out possible solutions.