Germany's biotech sector experiences record growth

(Berlin – 20 April 2021) In 2020, the German biotechnology sector grew faster than it has in years. This is the finding of a survey of 687 private biotech companies published today by the biotechnology association BIO Deutschland. Overall revenue in the sector, including that of the 23 publicly listed companies, rose by 36 percent, while research and development (R&D) spending increased by 37 percent. The sector’s job numbers also grew strongly, at ten percent overall. Yet little change was observed in the number of companies operating in Germany. This figure stagnated, up by just 1 percent. Listed biotech companies played an important part in the strong overall result, accounting for around half of all revenue. According to the association, the growth in revenue and R&D spending is mainly, but not solely, due to the sharp rise in demand for biotech products, vaccines and therapies triggered by the pandemic.

Oliver Schacht, Chairman of the Board of BIO Deutschland, commented on the findings: “We are pleased to see the very positive developments in terms of revenue and R&D spending in the biotechnology sector. With around 70 of our member companies involved in diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics to combat the pandemic, we expected to see increases here. However, the positive performance of our sector is not only due to the high demand for biotech products to contain SARS-CoV-2. As a key technology, biotechnology offers important solutions for many areas of life, such as nutrition and agriculture as well as the production of detergents, plastics, textiles and cosmetics. The potential of biotechnology is huge. With the right framework conditions, we could see many more biotech standouts like BioNTech and CureVac in Germany in the coming years.”

“In addition to the very positive developments on the revenue and R&D spending fronts, it is notable that there has been little positive change in the number of companies,” says Viola Bronsema, Managing Director of BIO Deutschland. “Policymakers urgently need to step up support for start-ups. After all, entrepreneurs in particular have made an outstanding contribution to the fight against the pandemic. Biotech companies in Germany have it tough, because the biotech business model does not fit the common idea of a start-up. The investment and capital needs in our industry tend to be high, even in the start-up phase. This should be taken into account when developing support programmes and establishing framework conditions for financing,” adds Bronsema.

Numerous German biotech companies are developing and producing tests, vaccines and therapeutics to contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and treat COVID-19. BIO Deutschland’s turn-of-the-year trend survey showed that about a quarter of biotech companies with a positive business outlook in 2020, regard the high demand for biotech products to contain the pandemic as the reason for the good business situation. Yet the majority of companies also attribute the positive performance to other factors.

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About BIO Deutschland:

As Germany’s national biotechnology industry association, BIO Deutschland aims to support and promote the development of an innovative economic sector based on modern biosciences. The Berlin-based association currently has some 340 members, ranging from companies and bioregions to industry services providers. Oliver Schacht, Ph.D., is Chairman of the Board of BIO Deutschland.

For further information, visit www.biodeutschland.org 

BIO Deutschland’s supporting members and industry partners are:

AGC Biologics, Avia, Baker Tilly, Bayer, BioSpring, Boehringer Ingelheim, Centogene, Clariant, CMS Hasche Sigle, Deutsche Bank, EBD Group, Ernst & Young, Evotec, Isenbruck, Bösl, Hörschler, Janssen-Cilag, KPMG, Merck, Miltenyi Biotec, MorphoSys, Novartis, Pfizer, PricewaterhouseCoopers, QIAGEN, Roche Diagnostics, Sanofi Aventis Deutschland, Thermo Fisher Scientific, TVM Life Sciences Management and Vertex Pharmaceuticals.

Contact:

BIO Deutschland e. V.
Dr Claudia Englbrecht
Schützenstraße 6a
10117 Berlin, Germany
Tel.: +49 30 2332 164-32
Mobile: +49 151 1406 7326
Email: englbrecht@biodeutschland.org

Publication free of charge – specimen copy requested.