159 institutional members strong and 18% growth for the cluster in 2023
Evotec BRIDGE beLAB2122 in the Rhine-Neckar region with excellent development and BioLabs Heidelberg strengthens the development of the life science cluster with 6 pharma partners and 11 tenants
Pharma Circle, start-up financing and Life Science Week are the strategic focus areas of BioRN
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Representatives of the 159 member companies and institutions gathered at the BioRN Network e.V. General Assembly in the Business Development Center at Heidelberg Technology Park on 15 December 2023.
Julia Schaft, Managing Director of BioRN, and her team presented the results of the projects and working groups, gave an overview of the activities to network and activate the members and provided information on the measures to increase visibility and media presence.
BioRN has seen particularly positive developments in its flagship projects beLAB2122 and BioLabs Heidelberg. "BeLAB2122 is the strongest Evotec BRIDGE with over 10 projects involving all academic partners," emphasised Julia Schaft in her presentation. "This positive performance once again demonstrates the innovative strength of the Rhine-Neckar life science region."
BioLabs Heidelberg, which moved into the 2200 square metre space provided by the City of Heidelberg in the Lab22 building on the Heidelberg Innovation Park (HIP) in October, continues to gather momentum with 11 resident start-ups and the partnership with 5 global pharmaceutical companies as well as Evotec as a strategic partner. Both projects were largely initiated and driven by BioRN and, in their second year of existence, are already key pillars for the dynamisation of start-up dynamics and innovation speed, which has placed Heidelberg and the Rhine-Neckar region in top positions in several study rankings this year.
BioRN is committed to the early-stage financing of life science start-ups as part of the Investment Working Group. The working group played a key role in making Baden-Württemberg one of the first federal states to launch the new state start-up financing model Inno Growth BW in October. The working group would now like to focus more on the development of instruments for the follow-up financing of start-ups.
In the second half of the year, the "Pharma Circle" was also formed, consisting of representatives from the nine global pharmaceutical companies in the BioRN network, with the aim of promoting translational developments in the region more strongly. The first concepts have already been discussed and implemented.
The planned Life Science Week between 8-10 October 2024 is intended to attract investors, companies and scientists from the life sciences from Germany and abroad to the region and will be further expanded conceptually. With the BioRN Annual Conference (BAC) in the Heidelberg Congress Centre (HCC) and the Life Science Investors' Day Heidelberg, the Life Science Week already has two successful formats. Further events are already being planned, with the development of an "Industry - Academia" day on the agenda.
The soft landing services for SMEs in foreign markets (BiointeRNational) have been very well received. BioRN is currently supporting three start-ups that are in talks with companies.
"BioRN's performance in 2023 is impressive and the result of an organically grown, excellent life science infrastructure. We are making a significant contribution to strengthening Germany as a biotechnology location," says Gitte Neubauer, Chair of the Board of BioRN Network e.V.
The subsequent Christmas reception provided another opportunity for networking, which was sponsored by members Abbvie, Ullrich and Naumann and PePPerprint.
Download the Annual Report 2023