Heidelberg, Germany 10.12.2021 –Members of BioRN Network e.V. met yesterday for the annual general assembly, a celebrative occasion to summarise major achievements and plan new assignments.
“It is with pride that I am closing a very successful year for BioRN and the region. In its 25th birthday, BioRN was able to reach remarkable milestones.” said Gitte Neubauer (Chair of the Executive Board) while opening the meeting.
Julia Schaft, Managing Director of BioRN provided a snapshot on the extensive accomplishments in 2021, spanning from press visibility for BioRN and the region, celebration of BioRN 25th birthday during the Annual Conference and progress achieved within the transfer and translational support projects. BioRN is supporting different initiatives to leverage the unique combination of global pharma and leading academic institutions to boost the creation of start-ups and their development and to further strengthen the biotech Mittelstand. “The recently established Evotec’s BRIDGE beLAB2122 is an ad-hoc instrument to accelerate pre-clinical academic projects and the upcoming BioLabs-Heidelberg provides start-ups with a perfectly managed environment in which they can grow fast” commented Julia during her report.
In its 25th year, BioRN gained 22 additional members, closing this year with a total of 134 institutional members, the highest number since is foundation in 1996.
The BioRN Executive Board has been re-elected and gained an additional member with Ulrich Betz, Vice President Innovation of Merck Healthcare KGaA. The members also voted on the composition of the BioRN Strategic Board and welcomed Thomas Hanke (Evotec), Michael Kring (Hightech Corporate Services) and Bernd Nosse (Boehringer Ingelheim) as new members.
Finally, the executive board awarded a BioRN honorary membership to Siegfried Bialojan for his outstanding contribution to the regional biotech scene. “In the EY Deutscher Biotechnologie-Report, which Siegfried Bialojan has authored for years, he was always able to provide his clear and visionary opinion with total independence, staying away from all external impact or political influence. And because it is a part of his character, he recently offered the same professional and heartful dedication to BioLabs Heidelberg. And much of the credit goes to him, if BioLabs now became a reality.” said Claus Kremoser, member of BioRN Executive Board during his laudatory speech.
About BioRN
BioRN is the science and industry cluster of the Rhine-Main-Neckar region around Heidelberg, one of Germany’s strongest biotech hubs. It is a non-profit network fostering health innovations and serving its members by creating a rich translational ecosystem as well as promoting, representing and connecting the regional innovation stakeholders. Our vision is to develop the region into a world-leading life science cluster attracting international investments and top global talent.
BioRN has more than 130 institutional members, including the top academic and research institutions, 10 global pharmaceutical companies, a large range of small and medium-sized enterprises bolstering the life science ecosystem as well as local government organizations and interest groups. www.biorn.org
Media Contacts
Dr. Annalisa Zuccotti
BioRN Cluster Management GmbH
Communication & Events Lead
P: 49 6221 4305-113
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