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Biotech park Luckenwalde
Indian biotechnology companies will soon be looking at developing
a global footprint. A review of facilities available at Germany's Berlin-Brandenburg
life science cluster, which offers an easy entry to the European market
The capital region Berlin-Brandenburg has Germany's most important biotechnology
cluster with the highest density of universities, research institutes, clinics
and more than 170 biotech and pharmaceutical companies, as well as a large potential
of outstandingly well trained qualified persons and easy access to the new European
Union member states.
Together, they represent a creative and productive environment that has been
a consistent breeding ground for successful pharma and biotech start-ups. Several
interdisciplinary networks and an outstanding regional infrastructure promote
close and efficient cooperation between the fields of science, business and
politics. The Berlin-Brandenburg region is even attractive by its favourable
residential and commercial rents and a comparatively low cost of living. More
than six million people live in this area, thus forming a considerable customer
potential and a substantial pool of highly qualified specialists and management
personnel.
Political support
The federal states of Berlin and Brandenburg actively pursue a wide-ranging
policy designed to promote the highest possible level of technological innovation
in the region. They gave the money to establish a coordination office for the
life science cluster. The agency BioTOP Berlin-Brandenburg is the central contact
point for all issues concerning biotechnology in the German capital region.
It is its objective to coordinate all regional activities in biotechnology by
networking with all key players and to initiate specific projects in order to
turn Berlin-Brandenburg into a globally leading industry site as a competence
centre for biotechnology.
Biotechnologypark Luckenwalde
The Biotechnologypark Luckenwalde is one of the key-components
of the Berlin-Brandenburg life science cluster. Located just 50 km south of
Berlin in the rural district of Teltow-Flaeming, the park is one of the most
modern facilities of its kind in Germany.
Already 40 national and international companies with about 500 employees are
located in the park which is a perfect location to set up a new business. It
offers work, research and home in direct proximity on its 28 hectare campus-like
site. The park provides a branch-specific technology and start-up centre, developed
business plots, ready for building on, on favourable terms as well as rental
apartments and plots for owner-occupied houses.
The management of the park offers support to companies in
the fields of founding consultancy, qualification of business plans, arrangement
of financing and sponsorship, look for cooperation partners and contact to authorities.
A biotech training centre, the Life Science Academy Luckenwalde, with the external
office of Wildau technical college on the campus, covers the long-term for excellently
trained and motivated qualified staff. With its own quality management system,
Biotechnologypark Luckenwalde is the first park in Germany to provide its central
technical services conformant to ISO 9001 and GMP.
The Park is for foreign companies the A1 location to enter the European market.
For companies seeking for a cost effective solution to the need for an initial
market presence in Germany, Luckenwalde Biotechnologypark is offering a 'sales
office arrangement' for very attractive cost structure. Foreign companies from
US, UK, Austria, Italy, Korea and India have already taken advantage of establishing
a branch in Luckenwalde to get easy access to the European market with more
than 400 million potential customers and further 400 million East Europeans.
Infrastructure
The park offers its tenants fully-equipped laboratories with laboratory benches
and cabinets, safety workbench, bench extractor fan, autoclave, automatic cleaner,
pure water systems as well as shared facilities such as seminar rooms, kitchenette,
solvent storage, ice machine, central waste deposit, cold storage rooms and
-80°C freeze cabinets.
Large equipment such a 400 MHz NMR spectrometer, micro and ultra filtration
facilities, concurrent centrifuge and a ball mill can be borrowed on favourable
terms. State-of-the-art clean rooms (B/C) for the production of pharma products
can be rented, and additional requirements can be quickly realised. Biotech
orientated symposia such as Biochip workshops with leading research organisation
such as Fraunhofer Society and Max-Planck-Foundation, GMP-validation seminars,
venture capital (VC) meetings with German and European VC companies are regularly
held in the modern communication centre with over 300 seats, restaurant and
library.
Grants
Berlin and Brandenburg support domestic and foreign biotech companies with a
wide-ranging policy of technology and business funding as well as through targeted
financial support. Their programs are aimed specifically at enhancing the innovative
and competitive strengths of the region. Companies in the life sciences sectors
receive priority funding in the form of investment allowances and R&D projects.
As target I and target II areas of the EU, the region offers the best funding
conditions in Europe. Investments are subsidised with up to 35 percent support
for large companies and up to 50 percent for small and mid-sized companies.
The region also benefits from support measures from the federal government for
the new federal regions.
Brandenburg offers the most attractive incentive grant conditions in Europe
and an interesting financing environment:
- Joint task for improvement of regional economic
structure
Contact partner—Investmentbank of Brandenburg
Offers maximum 50 percent non-repayable subsidy for all investment costs in
small and medium size companies (without vehicles, industrial property and
financing costs).
- Product and procedures innovations
Contact partner—Economic Develop-ment Board of Brandenburg (ZAB)
Offers maximum 75 percent grant aid of the eligible project costs, but maximum
500.000 Euro for every application in research and development (non-repayable).
- INNO-Watt-Program of the Federal Ministry for Economic
and Labour of Germany
Offers 45 percent non-repayable subsidy in R&D, including personnel; maximum
375.000 Euro.
Networking
Many successful scientific and economic networks have been established in the
region over the past several years. Luckenwalde Biotechpark is integrated in
an international network (USA, Australia, Russia, Korea, India, and Taiwan)
in order to enable worldwide fast, efficient market access and cooperation.
The regional network enables direct access to finance sources
and cooperation with renowned research establishments, universities and clinics,
help to accelerate the transfer of innovative research results and to promote
the quick conversation of these results into marketable products. The Biotechnologypark
Luckenwalde will implement the foreign companies in it network (attorneys, notary,
tax advisers, cooperation partners and associations) and help the companies
to establish a profitable branch in Europe.
For more details contact:
c.weber@swfg.de.
Web: www.bio-luck.de
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