Joint Parliamentary Lunch with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation

BIO Deutschland and the Liberal Institute of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom invited guests to a joint parliamentary lunch last week. In talks with experts, members of parliament, entrepreneurs and representatives of various federal ministries learned about the importance of innovative advanced and interdisciplinary technologies, as shown by the example of the contribution made by biotechnology to the field of healthcare policies. Detmar Doering, the Director of the Liberal Institute, first greeted the guests at the Tucher Restaurant at the Brandenburg Gate.

Stefan Kapferer, Secretary of State at the Federal Ministry of Health, introduced the subject matter with a presentation on the Federal Government’s plans for restructuring the healthcare system. In his talk, he did not only emphasise that greater competition and the cost effectiveness resulting from it were needed, but also pointed out the innovative potential of biotechnology, which will make an important contribution.

Peter Heinrich, Chairman of the Board of BIO Deutschland and CEO of Magforce Nanotechnologies AG, presented the association’s position paper on healthcare policies in Germany to the guests. Bearing in mind that serious illnesses such as cancer and rare chronic diseases are now treated primarily with biopharmaceuticals developed by small and medium-sized researching companies, Heinrich urged that the developments in the health system be carefully dealt with, both in the interests of the patients who need medication and of the entrepreneurs who develop and manufacture it.

In his presentation, Klaus-Dirk Henke, who holds the Chair for Public and Health Economics at the Institute of Economics and Economic Law at the Technical University Berlin, stressed that the health economy in Germany plays a special role. With a contribution of 12 per cent to GNP, the health economy contributes more than any other sector to jobs, cutting-edge services and leading technological developments. Professor Henke also explained the health satellite account with which the economic links of the health sector can be ascertained and shown as an autonomous branch of the economy within the national accounts. There will be another funded project on this topic, which will make it possible to see the individual branches within the health sector and their impact on the national accounts. For example, it would be possible to demonstrate the influence of biotechnology within the health sector.

Viola Bronsema, Managing Director of BIO Deutschland, pointed out that small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) in particular are placed at a disadvantage by the financial parameters in Germany. She asked politicians to prevent further discrimination in the healthcare reform.