BioRN Incubator

The virtual BioRN Incubator brings promising biopharmaceutical projects of small and medium-sized companies from a preclinical or in an early clinical trial to industrial maturity. This is the stage where research results become profitable for the first time, for example, through out-licensing to large enterprises.

The main focus is on the development of new cancer therapeutics. The majority of the companies involved work in this field. Their research is supported by the favorable location of the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region, which encompasses academic and research institutions as the University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg University Hospital, Mannheim University, the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL). Short distances to small and large pharmaceutical and biotech enterprises facilitate the technology transfer and foster a variety of cooperations.

Dr. Thomas Hoeger, CEO of Apogenix Ltd. and speaker of the collaborative project BioRN Incubator, at the press conference for BioRN´s first annual meeting in July 2009:

"Within the collaborative project BioRN Incubator new drugs are to be developed and afterwards commercialized, usually by licensing agreements with other biotechnological or pharmaceutical companies. Naturally, the focus here lies on the development of new cancer therapeutics, since most of the research groups in Heidelberg work in this field. The expected license revenues will help to secure existing jobs in the BioRegion Rhine-Neckar and to create new ones, thus increasing the attractiveness of the region. The strengths of the BioRegion Rhine-Neckar, such as the outstanding basic research at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), EMBL and the University, excellently trained scientists, and the short distances to some of the world´s leading pharmaceutical companies such as Roche, Abbott, and Merck Serono, should be utilized by the local biotechnology companies."

» To the collaborative project BioRN Biomarker Center