european biotechnology news special 12/2011 - biotech clusters & markets

EuropeanBiotechnology

Science & Industry NewsDecember 2011

SPECIAL

II Biotech Clusters & MarketsBiotech Clusters & MarketsBiotech Clusters & MarketsBiotech Clusters & MarketsBiotech Clusters & MarketsBiotech Clusters & MarketsBiotech Clusters & MarketsBiotech Clusters & MarketsBiotech Clusters & MarketsBiotech Clusters & MarketsBiotech Clusters & MarketsBiotech Clusters & MarketsBiotech Clusters & MarketsBiotech Clusters & MarketsBiotech Clusters & MarketsBiotech Clusters & MarketsBiotech Clusters & MarketsBiotech Clusters & MarketsBiotech Clusters & MarketsBiotech Clusters & MarketsBiotech Clusters & MarketsBiotech Clusters & MarketsBiotech Clusters & MarketsBiotech Clusters & MarketsBiotech Clusters & MarketsBiotech Clusters & MarketsII Biotech Clusters & Markets

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Euro|Biotech|NewsNº 11-12 | Volume 10 | 2011 25

Special: cluSterS & MarketS

Intro

The biotech cluster survival guide

2011 is drawing to a close, and it’s been a tumultuous year for European biotech-nology. It also looks as though things might get worse before they get better. Financ-ing has always been tough in the high-risk sector, but according to a recent survey conducted by Dow Jones VentureSource, finding capital in Europe has been grow-ing even more difficult. It says that investments in industry as a whole fell lower in the third quarter than they have for the last 11 years, but that biotech nology was hit even harder than other sectors – down 44% on Q3 2011. With the euro-crisis compounding the problems caused by the worldwide economic downswing, inves-tors have grown more cautious than ever about investing in biotech here. As belts tighten, companies and clusters all over the world are competing for increasingly limited capital. So how successful are they? And what lessons could Europe’s bi-otech sector learn from developments in other regions – and vice versa? For this special on international markets and clusters, we look both inside and outside the borders of the EU to see how the industry is coping worldwide.

In a recent interview with the Associated Press, Sanofi CEO Chris Viehbacher com-plained that “it has never been more difficult to fund a new idea. Venture capital has pret-

ty much gotten right out of healthcare.” But there is a glimmer of hope coming from an unexpected quarter. A survey from the Na-tional Venture Capital Association (NVCA)

questioned over 150 venture capital firms in the US about their investment plans for the next three years. 36% of those who respond-ed said they plan to increase investment in life science companies in Europe, while only 13% plan to increase investment in the Unit-ed States. Of course, Europe still has a lot of catching up to do. Ernst & Young has esti-mated that bio tech investments on the oth-er side of the pond in 2010 were around five times that in Europe. But emerging markets are now drawing – if not the most money – at least the most interest. The NVCA said that 44% of the respondents to its survey plan to increase investment in Asia.

Innovate – the once and future key

As bioeconomies continue to mature, some sectors are living up to or exceeding expec-tations – even in the midst of crisis – but others are stagnating. In this issue, Car-olyn Gauntlett from IMS Health in London takes a tough-love look at where we need to go from here with biologics (p. 26).

As emerging markets in Asia gain in import ance, the biotech industry in the US is confronted with a set of challenges it has never before had to face. James Greenwood, the President & CEO of the world’s largest biotechnology organisation BIO, crunched the numbers from the 2010 Battelle/BIO State Bioscience Initiatives report for us, and explained what they mean for the once free-wheeling North American market.

Biotechnology has developed different-ly in Europe. Denmark’s long tradition of close cooperation in medicine and phar-maceuticals development have helped make the small Scandinavian country a port in the storm over the last three years (p. 35), while the Swiss ‘One nation – One cluster’ model (p. 44) is one of the bright-est spots on Europe’s biotech map. And networking at the transnational scale is also finally gaining momentum. Claire Skentelbery from Brussels looks at what clusters on the continent must do to flour-ish as EU funding dries up (p. 46). Finally, with the immediate future looking bright-est in the East, Belgian cluster BioWin is moving quickly to establish a foothold (p. 49) in one of the most exciting boom-towns in the world – Shanghai. BBoston – home to one of the world’s largest biotech clusters

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26 Euro|Biotech|News

Special: cluSterS & MarketS Nº 11-12 | Volume 10 | 2011

Biologics

A tough market that requires innovation

Carolyn Gauntlett, PhD Consultant, Thought Leadership, IMS Health, London, UK

After years of strong double-digit value growth, the biologics market has re-cently stuttered, seeing year-on-year growth fall below 10%. As product space grows increasingly crowded, future success will depend on opening up the mar-ket through expansion into new therapy areas, offering new MoAs and success-fully exploiting the opportunity in pharmerging and biosimilars markets. This is a valuable market to play in, and for those who get their strategy right, returns could be high indeed.

IMS currently measures the global biologics market* worth at more than US$150bn (Fig. 1) – that’s 18% by value of total pharmaceutical sales. If biologics were a country, it would be second in spending worldwide behind the US. Contribution of biologics to to

tal pharma sales has also risen notice ably: value growth in the area has been rapid (14.0% CAGR since 2001). Despite the initial success and uptake of biologics, however, growth rates are clearly down on the early part of the decade, and are bolstered

only by a strong US market. With crowded product offerings, a relative lack of innovation, copy cat products and the introduction of bio similars – are biologics entering a new era with lower growth rates and a tougher market environment?

increasingly crowded shelves mean a tougher market

Biologics are still driven by specialist treatments (Fig. 2). Only 25% of the overall market is accounted for by primary care, and within this, almost all of the value comes from vaccines and antidia betics. Leading therapy areas in terms of sales value for biologics over the last five years have consistently been oncologics, autoimmune agents, antidiabetics, vaccines and erythropoietins. With a rush to launch products into these proven successful therapy areas, many companies are now going through what Small Molecule (SM) market firms experienced a few years ago – diminishing RoI.

Consider the monoclonal antibodies currently on the market for oncology (ATC class L1X3). By the end of the 1990s, just two such products had been launched – Mabthera and Herceptin. By 2005, that number had climbed to eight, and today it stands at 14. But 96% of revenue value is still held by just four of these 14 products. Avastin, Mabthera, Herceptin and Erbitux – which were all launched before 2005 – continue to dominate the market. This is illustrated in Fig. 3, where we plot the normalised cumulative postlaunch sales from Q1–Q12 (up to three years). Avastin, Mabthera, Herceptin and Erbitux show a strong increase in sales, but sales from the other 10 Mabs on a per molecule basis have failed to repli

Figure 1: sales and growth of biologics since 2001[1].* In the IMS definition of ‘biologic’, all of the following criteria must be met: the molecular structure must be that of a complex macromolecule, typically with some form of polymer structure where the biologic molecule is clearly identified. The biologic molecule must be the clearly defined active therapeutic ingredient in the product and have undergone a regulatory human clinical trial programme under the auspices of a national or regional regulatory authority.

Fig. 2: Market value of biologic products based on area of therapy [1]

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cate this impact. Biologics for autoimmune treatment reveal a similar picture. At the end of the 1990s, there were only two an-ti-TNF bio logics (Enbrel and Remicade). By 2005 there were three, and today there are five products on the market. Just as with the oncological Mabs, there is a stark difference in revenue achievement between the prod-ucts, with recent launches performing less well in terms of sales. This lack of impact comes despite a widespread geographi-cal roll-out. Among the blockbusters (glo-bal sales of US$1bn+) in each group, re-cent launches achieved faster geographi-cal pene tration than their predecessors – for example, according to IMS data, Avastin was present in 45 countries at three years vs. Herceptin in 30 countries. Likewise Hu-mira was present in 31 countries three years after launch vs. Enbrel in 16 countries. But despite the widespread nature of the post-2005 launches, they are not achieving the same returns the earlier launches gener-ated. Launched in 2009, Simponi is present in 24 countries at Q9 post-launch, placing it in the same league as Humira (25 countries at Q9), yet it sees only a fraction of the sales. This of course raises the question - why con-tinue to launch biologic products into crowd-ed therapy areas where sales 2-3 years post-launch are failing to impact the market as much as for earlier entrants?

In the anti-TNF market, the five molecules illustrated all compete for a similar patient population. Being first to market brought significant advantages, and although Hu-

mira made inroads on Enbrel and Remicade due to a widespread roll-out after its launch in 2003, as well as its advantageous admin-istration and immunogenicity, the market has remained essentially split three ways ever since. More recent launches have made much less of an impact, because the market is already sewn up. In contrast, the oncologi-cal Mabs do not always compete directly with each other in a target patient group. Large unserved patient populations existed when the first oncological Mabs were launched. With well-established products now on the market, many later entrants have turned to targeting specific patient populations, where successful treatment outcomes are more predictable and payers can be convinced to consider new entrants. Before launching products such as Erbitux and Vectibix, their manufacturers first identified biomarkers for EGFR or KRAS in order to target patients who will best respond to their treatment.[2] Arzerra has also been granted orphan drug status by the EMA and FDA for treating a niche patient group.[2,3] Although strategies like this are not in general lifting sales per-formances of recent launches to that of ear-lier oncologic Mabs, they are still succeeding in more focused market positions.

Where is the innovation?

Core biologics therapy areas are still dom-inating research, with over 600 biologics in the pipeline for oncology alone. The IMS R&D Focus reveals that around 50% of the

biologics pipeline is taken up with oncolo-gy and vaccines.[4] However, there are also exciting projects targeting potential expan-sion beyond these core areas. Bio logics are also in the pipeline for traditionally primary care areas, among them cardio, dermatolo-gy and even CNS. For example, bapineuzum-ab is a monoclonal antibody indicated for the treatment of mild-to-moderate Alz heimer’s disease that is being developed by J&J and Pfizer (currently Phase III).[5] Future growth in the biologics market could rely heavily on expansion into new therapy areas like this. However, whilst in specialist areas such as Alz heimers with significant unmet need there may well be an opening for a biologic, efforts to expand further into primary care areas such as the osteoporosis market have met with limited success. The osteoporosis market is still dominated by SM treatments – biologics such as Forteo and Prolia have be-tween them only managed to take 13% of the market value. They also have a startling low market volume (standard units) as SM gener-ics grow in terms of volume share. In primary care areas where payer pressure is strong, plentiful SM generics make biologics likely to be seen at best as second-line treatments, and achieving RoI will be challenging.

Assessing the biologic pipeline by MOA novelty across several therapy areas shows that companies are sticking with proven classes, such as recombinant proteins, monoclonal antibodies and peptides. New-er mechanisms like mRNA translation are fewer and further between. For example, of the biologics in the pipeline for onco logy, 60% are monoclonal antibodies and only 10% are antisense. So why the lack of inno-vation in a relatively nascent, high-growth area? Development and manufacturing costs for bio logics are high, and require a major upfront investment. With regu latory (and acceptance) risks likely to be higher for completely novel MOAs, companies seem to be playing it safe.

Pharmerging markets: friend or foe?

With growth decelerating in the mature mar-kets, pharmerging markets are becoming increasingly important to the global bio-logics market. The US is still at the top of the Figure 3: Declining sales impact of later biologics launches (per molecule)[1]

28 Euro|Biotech|News

Special: cluSterS & MarketS Nº 11-12 | Volume 10 | 2011


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30 Euro|Biotech|News Nº 11-12 | Volume 10 | 2011


Figure 4: IMS forecast for Biologics Market 2010-2020

biologic market list, but China and Russia are #9 and #10 respectively, with Turkey at #14. Growth there is also impressive. Sales in the year to June 2011 were 10% higher than in the year to June 2010 in the US; in China they were 21% higher. The pharmerging markets therefore offer opportunity just as the biologics market is starting to feel the impact of declining growth in Europe and increasingly crowded product space in the mature US market. Much of pharm erging growth, however, is driven by socalled “other bio similartype products”, which are characteristic across the region. Dr Reddy’s has launched Reditux in India, which is based on Roche’s blockbuster rituximab (Rituxan).[6] Hayao Biologic has launched XueDaSheng in China, an erythropoetin.[7] These products have gone through an approval process in their home countries, but as they have not gone through the European pathway, they are not formally classified by IMS as bio similars. Locally developed products such as these slow penetration of original biologics in pharmerging markets, but raise overall volume use of biologics as they are generally less expensive. Although we predict future growth may be driven by these bio similartype products rather than by original biologics, in a region where oncologics, anti diabetics and antirheumatics (core biologic product areas) are some of the fastest growing therapy areas, there is little doubt that pharmerging markets will be a source of future biologics growth.

The impact of biosimilars on the market

At present the penetration of biosimilars is very low, representing just 1% of the biologics market in value terms. Uptake in Europe has been variable, both by therapeutic market and country, and in the US there is not as yet a regulatory pathway to approve these products. However in March 2010, US lawmakers passed legislation to promote competition in the biologics market: the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act permits the approval and marketing of followon biologic drugs in the US.[8] Entry of biosimilar therapies in the US market is therefore expected from 2014, when the leg

islative pathway is expected to be in place. Uptake is then predicted to accelerate, as availability of biosimilars in the US will coincide with the end of the current window of major smallmolecule loss of exclusivities, meaning payers will have to look elsewhere to continue to realise cost savings.

With many of the current topselling biologics losing product patent protection over the next five years (Enbrel in 2012, Mabthera 2013, Remicade 2014, Herceptin 2015), there has been a scramble for early market entry and market leadership within the biosimilars world. SM generics are traditionally led by generic specialists such as Sandoz and Teva. But although these companies were early entrants and are strong in bio similars, big pharma are also hungry for a piece of the pie. Merck, Pfizer and BI have all announced their intention to play in the biosimilars field [911].

There is of course much speculation about the success of the biosimilars market and the impact it will have on forward movement in the entire biologics market. But with the stagnant growth seen in SM pharmaceuticals and increasingly crowded therapy areas in the biological space leading to diminishing returns, biosimilar markets offer an attractive opportunity for diversification in a higher margin market.

Expansion, but a tougher market

In the short term, biologics are expected to outpace overall pharma growth, with a forecast CAGR of 7.7% from 20102015. Growth

is expected to slow from 20152020 as biosimilars enter the US market. IMS conservatively forecasts the market could be worth US$253bn by 2020 – almost double its present value.

IMS also foresees that even though biologics are entering a tougher era – with lower market growth than there has been over the last ten years – expansion outside of the core biologic therapy areas, growth in the pharmerging markets and the increased uptake of bio similars will make this an exciting and rewarding sector over the coming decade. D

References[1] IMS Midas June 2011; excludes discounts and

rebates[2] European Medicines Agency, Human Medicines

Overview[3] FDA Orphan Designated and or Approved Prod

ucts database[4] IMS Lifecycle: R&D Focus[5] NIH Clinical Trials Service; www.clinicaltrials.gov[6] Dr Reddy’s, http://www.drreddys.com/products/

popups/reditux.htm[7] Hayao Group, http://www.hayao.com/Corporation/

major.asp?cInfoId=195&dInfoId=262[8] “Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act”,

2010 http://dpc.senate.gov/healthreformbill/healthbill70.pdf

[9] Merck 2008 Annual Report[10] Ahmed, R., Becker, N., “Pfizer, Biocon in insulin

licensing deal,” Wall Street Journal, October 2010[11] “Boehringer Ingelheim expands its Business with

Biosimilars”, BI Press Releases, September 2011

ContactCarolyn Gauntlett, PhD Consultant, Thought Leadership – IMS Health 7 Harewood Avenue, London NW1 [email protected]


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Clusters

Biotech in the US – riding out the storm

James C. Greenwood, President & CEO, Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO)

until a decade ago, the united states was the undisputed leader in bioscience indus-try development. Global competition within the industry has dramatically increased – fueled in large part by low-cost labor, the speed of information dissemination, and available risk capital. In the united states, local and national government leaders continue to understand this new dynamic of increased competition for developing the biosciences and are actively working to expand and promote industry growth.

Nearly every competitor in this increasing-ly global economy has access to big break-throughs in technology and to the equip-ment and capital to produce standardized products, but those regions that possess the human capital – with its insights, com-petencies, and experience – will have the competitive advantage.

As the United States has adjusted to ac-commodate increased global competition, within this and other industry sectors, state and regional leaders have also sought to attract and retain high-wage, high-skilled jobs that offer the most promise to cure

disease, feed the hungry, clean our envi-ronment and provide renewable sources of energy. Biotech jobs and salaries within the United States have substantially grown in the past ten years. To date, there are more than 47,000 bioscience companies and 1.4 million workers across 50 states and Puerto Rico.

Moreover, the industry has grown an av-erage 3.5% each year during the past dec-ade. Even during this deep recession, our industry actually grew between 2009 and 2010, though in uneven numbers depend-ing on the sector.

While total private sector employment was down by 6.2% in 2009, total bioscience em-ployment was actually up by 2.8% in that year. And biotech workers in the Unit-ed States earn on average more than US$77,000 per year, significantly higher than the national average of over US$45,000 for all private industries. Beyond the statis-tics, the bioscience industry has come into play in the economic development initiative of states, cities and municipalities for sev-eral important strategic reasons.

First, we are a vital component of the du-rable goods manufacturing sector of the economy in an environment of increas-ing and sustained international competi-tion. Many states have a strong bioscience-manufacturing presence that produces some of the highest quality products in the marketplace. Second, these are high-skill, high-wage jobs that diversify the economy and support the creation of an improved standard of living, and help boost revenues from state and local taxes to support educa-tion, public safety, and other budget priori-ties. This is especially important as states focus on efforts to rebound out of a major recession. Third, the industry is intertwined with technology transfer efforts of universi-ties, workforce development at community colleges, and inflow of federal and private research grants for invention and innovation and workforce training funds to match em-ployer needs and employee skills.

In the last year alone, state legislatures in Missouri, Wisconsin, Tennessee and Colora-do have passed bills that reinvest tax dollars in bioscience economic development initia-tives. Additional examples of state legisla-tive best practices in support of bioscience industry development are available at BIO’s website (www.bio.org).

While the economic climate has been dif-ficult for bioscience companies, it has also had a significant impact on state budgets, causing some states to cut programs and reassess economic priorities. However, al-most every state in the country is actively engaged in building bioscience industry in-frastructure. State-sponsored programs to encourage investment and help bioscience companies leverage existing resources can be instrumental in helping these innovative companies survive this economic cycle.

Net income of the four bioscience subsectors in 2009 was positive in the us. source: the Battelle/BIO state Bioscience Initiatives 2010. Analysis of 649 public bioscience companies.

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Realizing the economic potential, state and regional economic development lead-ers throughout the nation have become much more aware of the industry’s needs, and have put numerous programs and in-centives in place to attract and nurture the bio sciences. These programs include:– Providing business and financial assist-

ance to emerging companies – Creating tax and regulatory environments

to support and expand growing compa-nies

– Addressing capital needs by providing funding for pre-commercialization ac-tivities

– Creating seed funds – Implementing policies encouraging pri-

vate investment in early and later state venture capital

– Supplying capital for facilities funding – Working closely with bioscience compa-

nies to develop and create a skilled work-force.

Due in part to the international econom-ic downturn, lawmakers have become in-creasingly aware of the unique challeng-es facing bioscience companies, such as high research costs and the long develop-ment timeline involved in bringing a new bioscience product to market. They under-stand the importance of a stable and sup-portive business industry climate for small and emerging companies. Some states are allowing companies to monetize earned

R&D and net operating loss credits, sales tax exemptions for the purchase of R&D equipment, and investment tax credits to drive angel capital investment in the bio-science industry.

American ingenuity is perhaps our great-est intangible resource. Exciting discover-ies are often made in our university labora-tories. Most of these discoveries are early stage and require lengthy R&D, which re-quires a massive infusion of private capi-tal. Moving that intellectual property into the marketplace is a continuing challenge. There is, after all, no guarantee that these initial discoveries will ever lead to safe, ef-fective, and commercially viable products.

The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has the critical mission of reviewing new drugs (and other medical products) for safe-ty and efficacy. However, the FDA’s regula-tory processes have not kept up with rapidly advancing science, slowing the delivery of cures and breakthrough medicines to pa-tients who desperately need them and cre-ating uncertainty that impedes the ability of biotech companies to obtain the funding re-quired for continued innovation.

BIO is advocating for full funding for the FDA, for the reforms necessary to ensure the agency has the ability and resources it needs to renew its focus on reviewing prod-ucts in a timely manner, and for a consist-ent and science-based decision-making process that reflects patient needs. The

severe economic downturn makes it diffi-cult to focus on issues beyond the short-term imperative of improving our econom-ic footing and reversing the deep declines in jobs. But just beyond today’s econom-ic ups and downs are warning signs that the United States is slipping in generat-ing the skilled, educated workers needed to meet the demands for a highly trained, technical workforce in today’s knowledge-based economy.

Our struggle to attract and retain a con-tinuing flow of educated (Ph.D., MS, BS, AA) and technically-proficient workers is a growing concern. Regrettably, our coun-try is failing to prepare students for pursu-ing biosciences in higher education – a key pipeline for developing the bioscience work-force of the future.

And finally, the U.S. Congress, a ma-jority of the states, and numerous organ-izations continue to debate reform of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the sweeping overhaul of the nation’s healthcare system. The law includes provi-sions to create a pathway for the approval of follow-on biotechnology medicines, and a US$1bn therapeutic discovery tax credit, both of which were widely supported by the bioscience industry.

Bioscience development is not simply about generating economic returns. The great promise of the biosciences is the abil-ity to address global problems – from hu-man health to food generation, from securi-ty to environmental sustainability and clean energy. Bioscience development pays huge social and quality-of-life dividends for the US and the world.

State and federal fiscal woes threaten the United States’ leadership in basic re-search. The recent recession and its im-pact on capital markets have created a very sharp decline in venture capital for bioscience companies, which is critical to advancing bioscience innovation into the marketplace. And, in the long-term, the talent pipeline in the biosciences remains an area of significant concern. State and national policymakers have a key role to play in ensuring that these challenges are addressed in order to allow the Unit-ed States to continue to be a world leader in the biosciences.

Fig. 2: The 25 largest US metro areas in the biosciences. Source: The Battelle/BIO State Bioscience Initiatives 2010.

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Clusters

Doing things the Danish way

Rasmus Beedholm-Ebsen, Invest in Denmark, Copenhagen

Denmark’s tradition of successful pharmaceutical companies and clinical tri-als stretches back more than a century, and over the past decade the country has emerged as a major global player in the field of biotech research.

Denmark is currently home to one of Eu-rope’s strongest life sciences clusters, which employs some 42,000 specialised experts in an industry composed of more than 160 biotech companies and more than 20 clinical research organisations. Additionally, more than 5,000 life sci-

ences students graduate annually from eight universities and four major univer-sity hospitals in the Danish life scienc-es cluster. Close collaboration between Danish academia, industry and public health institutions has led to strong ac-ademic track records and industry so-

Fig. 1: Denmark’s commercial drug development pipeline(source: Invest in Denmark & Copenhagen Capacity, 2011)

Join the EuropeanBiotechnology Network!

The European Biotechnology Network is dedicated to facilitating co-operati-on between professionals in biotech-nology and the life sciences all over Europe. The network is run by the Eu-ropean Biotechnology Foundation, a non-profit organisation based in Brus-sels. Do you want to know more about the advantages of a (free) member-ship? Just have a look at our website: www.european-biotechnology.net

European Biotechnology FoundationRue d‘Egmont 15B-1000 Bruxelles, Belgique

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35-36_EBN11-12_11_Denmark_tg.indd 35 09.12.2011 11:43:28 Uhr


lutions. With more than 230 drug candidates in preclinical and clinical development in 2011, Denmark has the third largest commercial drug development pipeline in Europe in terms of absolute numbers according to a 2011 Ernst & Young report (Fig. 1). That strong pipeline is backed up by a proven ability to take drug candidates into preclinical and clinical development (Science 2010, Vol. 327, issue 5963).

The address of one of Europe’s most successful clusters

The Danish life sciences cluster is spearheaded by Medicon Valley, one of Europe’s strongest life sciences regions. It comprises a dense conglomeration of universities, hospitals and companies located in the eastern part of Denmark and the southern area of Sweden.

The importance of having a strong biotech cluster has become particularly obvious throughout the current financial crisis. Medicon Valley has helped the country remain attractive to both investors and knowledgeintensive talent.

That has in turn allowed Denmark to maintain its leading position in the field of biotechnology, despite unrest on the markets and the current lack of funds in general in the sector. Another reason for the success is that many Danish biotech companies have chosen to pursue a longterm financial strategy. One aspect

of that forwardlooking planning is that many companies realised funds and investments when they became available, rather than waiting until circumstances or need forced them to do so. This strategic approach prepared Danish biotech companies for the new leaner era, leaving them less susceptible to pressure when it comes to delivering results within certain timeframes – the fate of many of their foreign competitors.

Denmark – a major exporter of pharmaceutical products

Danish pharmaceutical product exports saw growth of 23% in 2010 despite the ongoing financial crisis, which is an important indicator of the Danish life sciences cluster’s ability to weather the economic storm (Fig. 2).

Danish biotech and pharmaceutical exports are the biggest export sector in the country, and when the field as a whole profits, it benefits the Danish life sciences cluster overall, since capital is often reinvested in new projects and businesses. Because of the sector’s significance, the biotech and pharma industry also has a high political profile in Denmark. In terms of government policy, it is important that the general life sciences sector is not only doing well, but is also provided with the conditions for conducting solid research and development.

Denmark excels in translational research & personalised medicine

One big advantage of a small country is that networking is easier than in a large one, with less psychological and physical distance between the scientist or scientific entrepreneur and decisionmakers such as government ministers, policymakers, and industry leaders. It also facilitates the connection between academia and industry, which is a big benefit for those professionals in translational medicine who are endeavouring to turn basic research into clinical applications. And it of course provides a big boost to research in personalised medicine overall. Denmark particularly excels in this new field of translational research, and not just because of the ease of communication between scientists in labs, researchers in industry, and clinicians in hospitals, but also due to a history of such collaborations dating back well over a century – long before the term ‘translational’ moved into common parlance.

Denmark’s commitment to a knowledge economy is clear. Despite the challenging economic conditions encountered at the end of this first decade of the 21st century, our country is determined to stay on track with its pledge to boost spending on R&D to 3% of GDP. Training programmes for PhD candidates are being expanded, including a special one for industrial PhDs that focuses on both the academic and commercial sides of science. A large number of domestic funding programs – such as the country’s Innovation Consortia programme – are also in place to fund research and development in new technologies and therapies.

This commitment sends a clear message to local scientists, as well as those working internationally and considering Denmark as a destination: we are serious about science, as well as about supporting key collaborations between academia and industry. D

Contact: www.investindk.com

Fig. 2: Development in Danish drug exports. Source: The Trade Council of Denmark 2011


35-36_EBN11-12_11_Denmark_tg.indd 36 09.12.2011 11:46:02 Uhr



Location: North Rhine-Westphalia, GermanyCluster Manager: Dr. Bernward Garthoff (CEO)Contact: www.bio.nrw.de Thematic Strengths: Technology Transfer,

Financing, Personalised Medicine, Industrial Biotechnology, Biotech Data

No. of Innovation & Start-up Centres: 18

No. of Life Sciences Companies: 340 in 2010 No. of Biotech Companies: 86 biotech com

panies (71 dedicated) No. of employees: 3,400 staff (within

dedicated biotechs) Annual sales: EUR1bn in revenues

(dedicated biotechs) Financing: EUR80m (VC), EUR8m

(public funding) No. of Universities/Research hubs with Life Scienc-

es activities: 50 research institutes with life sciences activities

Related Networks/Branches: BioRiver – Life Science im Rheinland e.V., BioIndustry e.V., bioanalytik münster e.V., LifeTec Aachen Jülich e.V., Bio OWL, Life Science Net Düsseldorf, bio.dortmund, Stem Cell Network North RhineWestphalia, CleanTech NRW

Name of Cluster: BIO.NRW Cluster Biotechnology

Location: The Health Cluster of Wallonia, Belgium Cluster Manager: France Fannes, Managing DirectorContact: www.biowin.org Thematic Strengths/USPs: Biopharmacy,

Radiopharmacy, Cell Therapy, Diagnostics (in vivo and in vitro),

Medical Devices, Biotech Products, Services (CRO, CMO, EHealth), Medical Equipment

No. of Innovation & Start-up Centres: 6 science parks with life sciences activities

No. of Life Sciences Companies: 100 health companies

No. of Biotech Companies: thereof 70 innovative companies

No. of employees: 14,500

Annual sales: EUR3bn in annual turnover Financing: EUR1.7bn annual public &

private investments in R&D No. of Universities/Research hubs with Life Sci-

ences activities: 3 universities/academies and 300 public & private R&D centers

Related Networks/Branches: ARESA (regional cluster for clinical research organisations); WALDx (the invitro diagnostics network of Wallonia)

Name of Cluster: BioWin

Location: Romainville, FranceSort of Cluster: Biotechnology cluster Cluster Manager: Jean-François Boussard, CEOContact: www.biocitech.com/

Thematic Strengths/USPs: Biotechnology, Bio pharmaceutical, Fine Chemical Companies

No. of Innovation & Start-up Centres: N/A, 147 patents

No. of Life Sciences Companies: 27 life sciences companies

No. of employees: 453

Annual sales: EUR142m in 2010 Financing: EUR30.2m (private funding)

and EUR7m (public funds) No. of Universities/Research hubs with Life

Sciences activities: 0 Related Networks/Branches: N/A

Name of Cluster: Biocitech Technology Park for Life Sciences

Sort of Cluster: Life ScienceCluster Managment: Uppsala BIO, Stockholm Science City, Flemingsberg ScienceContact: www.uppsalabio.com, www.ssci.se and www.flemingsberg.se

Thematic Strengths: Protein & Molecular Science, Diagnostics, Neuroscience, Cancer, Infectious Diseases, Pharma Production

No. of Innovation & Start-up Centres: 5 No. of Life Sciences Companies: 750, 495 of

which are involved in product development and/or manufacturing

No. of employees: 23,500 staff, 70% of which are involved in product development and/or manufacturing

Annual sales: EUR19bn (figures for firms with an address in StockholmUppsala)

No. of Universities with Life Sciences activities: 6 Related Networks/Branches: ICT and Mobile

Technology, Cleantech, Energy

Name of Cluster: Stockholm-Uppsala Life Science

41-42_EBN11-12_11_Spezial_Standorte_tg.indd 41 08.12.2011 11:31:34 Uhr



Location: Nantes, FranceSort of Cluster: MixedCluster Manager: Jean-François BalducciContact: www.atlanpolebiotherapies.com

Thematic Strengths/USPs: Immunobiotherapies, Radiopharmaceuticals, Cell&Gene Therapies, Biomaterials

No. Innovation & Start-up Centres: 3 No. of Life Sciences Companies: 70 Life

Sciences Companies No. of Universities/Research hubs with

Life Sciences activities: 9, with 49 research

units (among them 5 institutes), 3 hospital universities (Nantes, Angers,Poitiers), a veterinary school (ONIRIS) and a management school (AUDENCIA)

Related Networks/Branches: TERM network; BiomatIN network; Atlanpole Blue Cluster

Name of Cluster: Atlanpole Biotherapies

Location: Vienna, AustriaSort of Cluster: Biotechnology, Pharma and Medical Technology ClusterCluster Manager: Peter Halwachs and Johannes Sarx (LISAvienna Executive Board)Contact: www.LISAvienna.at

Thematic Strengths/USPs: Cancer, Infectious Diseases, Vaccines, Software for Medicine, Telemedicine and EHealth, Electromechanical Medical Devices

No. Innovation & Start-up Centres: 1 No. of Life Sciences Companies: more than

400 Life Sciences Companies No. of Biotech Companies: 46 dedicated and

19 active biotechs, as well as 35 dedicated and 6 active medtechs

No. of employees: more than 9,000 staff (within dedicated & active biotechs and medtechs)

Annual sales: EUR1.7 bn in revenues (dedicated & active biotechs and medtechs)

Financing: EUR35.5 m (public funding) No. of Universities/Research hubs with Life Scienc-

es activities: 22 universities and research institutes with Life Sciences activities

Name of Cluster: LISAvienna

Location: SwitzerlandSort of Cluster: National network of collaboration in the biotech industryCluster Managment: Swiss Biotech Association

Contact: www.swissbiotech.org Thematic Strengths/USPs: Nationwide position

ing with regional cultural specialities No. Innovation & Start-up Centres: 40+ No. of Biotech Companies: 400 biotech firms No. of employees: more than 20,000

Annual sales: CHF9.254m Financing: CHF255m No. of Universities/Research hubs with Life Scienc-

es activities: 1618 in total Related Networks/Branches: Medtech Clus

ter Association, Nanotech Initiatives, Swiss Food Research Platform

Name of Cluster: One Nation – One Biotech Cluster

Location: Baltic statesCluster Manager: Peter Frank, General SecretaryContact: www.scanbalt.org/ Thematic Strengths/USPs: Crossborder

Publicprivate Collaboration, Health and Health Economy, Green Innovation, Sustainable Use of Marine Resources, Sustainable Food Production

No. of Life Sciences Companies: 2,200 Life Sciences Companies

No. of Biotech Companies: 700 researchbased biotech companies, 370 device and 150 diagnostics companies, 120 clinical research and 170 BioIT companies

No. of employees: N/A Annual sales: N/A Financing: N/A

Related Networks/Branches: BioBaltica, BioCon Valley, Biopeople, BioTop BerlinBrandenburg, BioTurku, Environmental Development Association of Latvia, Estonian Biotechnology Association, Göteborg Bio, HANNN, HealthBio, Latvian Biotechnology Association, MedCoast Scandinavia, Medicon Valley Alliance, Norgenta, Oslo Cancer Cluster, Oulu Innovation, Steinbeis Foundation

Name of Cluster: ScanBalt BioRegion

41-42_EBN11-12_11_Spezial_Standorte_tg.indd 42 08.12.2011 11:31:48 Uhr

Why attend? Monoclonal antibodies are the fastest growing segment within the biotech and pharmaceutical industry. Today, four of the top ten selling blockbusters are antibodies. Industry forecasts see global sales rising to $58bn in 2014. Pharma and biotech companies are investing heavily in developing new antibodies to treat a rising number of diseases. However, antibody concepts also have their limitations. Reimbursement is becoming increasingly difficult. Biosimilars apply pressure on margins. Therefore, a growing number of alternative active and passive immune therapies will deliver fresh therapeutic concepts to the doctor’s menu. The 5th Berlin Conference covers the whole spectrum of immune therapies including the latest improvements.

Please register now at www.biocom.de/events/IP or send an email to [email protected]. Restricted Capacity!

Antibodies & Beyond – Modern Immune Therapies

5th Berlin Conference on IP in Life Sciences

17 February 2012, 9:00 a.m., Embassy of Switzerland Berlin, Germany

Organisation: BIOCOM AG | Lützowstraße 33–36 | 10785 Berlinwww.biocom.de | [email protected] | Tel. +49 (0)30 264921-53 | Fax +49 (0)30 264921-66

Supporting Partner: Media Partner:

@

“WHITE BIOTECHNOLOGY” WORKING GROUP

Leading chemical companies are exploring the op-portunities that have been opened up by modern bio-technology, especially in the field of “white” or indus-trial biotechnology. And they are also applying thesetechnologies, wherever it makes sense. The SBA takessuch initiatives seriously and has formed a workinggroup specifically dedicated to white biotechnology.The Swiss Industrial Biocatalysis Consortium is animportant partner in this effort. The group includesleading multinational companies that support whitebiotechnology as a pillar of economic growth. Theplanned activities are in agreement with OECD strategies.In partnership with the Swiss Biotechnet (see pages14/15) the SBA develops training programmes and use-ful support tools for the industry. It is of importancethat the industry specifies its training needs so thatthe academic side can create tailor-made education.This strategy ensures that the industry gets the rightworkforce with the right education. The SBA profitsfrom the marketing alliance “Swiss Biotech” (see box)in a multiplied form. Thanks to Swiss Biotech, the

sector is internationally visible. The project-specificparticipating companies (most of them young and in-ternationally less savvy) find a comprehensive partnerwhich is helping to put them in the public window.The participating Life Science Regions are importantinternal carriers of the dynamics in the Biotech sec-tor, thus enhancing the common understanding of theindustry. This and more knowledge is brought intoEuropa Bio, the European Biotech Association, wherethe SBA is an active member.

22

SWISS BIOTECH...

...is an alliance of four leading Biotech regions ofSwitzerland (Bio Alps, BioPolo Ticino, Basel Areaand Greater Zurich Area). They have combined ef-forts to streamline interests of the national biotechsector. The SWX Swiss Exchange holds a leadingposition in terms of lifescience listings and offerscompanies from that industry – be they located inSwitzerland or abroad – access to an international-ly recognised financial marketplace. The initiativewas co-founded by the SBA which also managesthe executive office of Swiss Biotech.

Domenico Alexakis is Executive Director of the Swiss Biotech Association.

...ONE BIOTECH CLUSTER

For further information please visit www.swissbiotechassociation.ch

www.swissbiotech.org


Net work

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dfoc

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Sponsors:

Schweizerische Botschaft in der

Bundesrepublik Deutschland

5th-IP-Ad_210x275.indd 87 09.12.2011 11:50:31 Uhr43_EBN11-12_11_5th-IP.indd 1 09.12.2011 11:51:41 Uhr


ADVERTORIAL

are among the main advantages for inno-vative companies.

Academic Thrust – Public Funds

The academic structure in Switzerland re-flects its federal system of government. There are two Federal Institutes of Tech-nology, Zurich’s ETH and Lausanne’s EPF, plus several research institutions (PSI, WSL, EMPA and EAWAG). As public sector services, they guarantee a fundamental level of pure and applied research, teach-ing and innovation. They also turn out world-class results in the promising, fu-ture-oriented disciplines of life sciences, communications and nano technology.

The universities are funded largely by the cantons. Only the larger cantons have their own universities, and these vary in size and faculty emphasis. The universities of Ba-sel, Bern, Geneva, Fribourg, Lausanne, Neu châtel and Zurich offer extensive cur-

Biotechnology is expected to continue to play a key role in the sustainable develop-ment of Switzerland. Boosting innovation in this industry will be vital to economic growth, environmental efforts, commer-cialisation of new technologies and public health. By further strengthening academic output, enablers and competitive clusters, the sector will continue to blossom.

The Swiss biotech industry has gar-nered a lot of attention in recent years. Unlike many other industries, the sector has grown during the economic crisis, and Swiss biotech sustained itself remarka-bly well. The number of employees in the field now approaches 20,000 (including Big Pharma numbers).

This overview illustrates the structure of the biotechnology sector and empha-sises the various institutional players and enablers. ‘Bio tech’ as it is here defined in-cludes pharma and chemical companies, seed manufacturers, producers of inter-mediates, service companies and to a cer-tain extent investors.The scientists working here stand for innovation, and are there-fore the very first links in the value chain. Swiss research enjoys a first-class inter-national reputation, thanks primarily to the scientists supported by the Swiss Nation-al Science Foundation (SNSF) who pursue their research interests pre dominantly in individual projects. With a view to further strengthening Swiss research in strategi-cally important areas, the SNSF current-ly maintains National Centres of Compe-tence in Research (NCCRs).

By guaranteeing top quality in Swiss re-search, the SNSF also plays an important role in the economy. In international com-petition, first-class research plus highly-qualified and motivated young scientists

ricula in life sciences, medicine and bio-technology.

Five universities of applied sciences have stepped up their activities in the field of bio-tech, and are working closely with the uni-versities and Federal Institutes of Technol-ogy. This results in better vertical technol-ogy transfer and faster product innovation cycles. Universities coordinate their indus-try efforts through a competence network called ‘biotech net’, a resource that collec-tively solves industry and company problems through an interdisciplinary approach.

The Innovation Promotion Agency (CTI) specifically backs the transfer of knowl-edge and technology between universi-ties and business. CTI supports applica-tion-oriented research and development. One of the agency’s main missions is the promotion of start-ups, because many in-novations are realised and brought to mar-ket by young entrepreneurs. Switzerland needs talent with exciting business ideas –

ClusTers

Swiss Biotech:One nation – One cluster

44-45_EBN_11-12_11_Advertorial_Swiss-Biotech.indd 44 08.12.2011 11:32:16 Uhr


ADVERTORIAL

people who are willing to take on the com-petition and persistently implement their visions in the business.

Technology Transfer

The National Association swiTT – The interface between academia and the pri-vate sector: For many biotech companies, collaborating with partners from academia and other companies is vital. Researchers at Swiss universities are generally open to and interested in collaborating with indus-try, and pursue a large number of joint re-search projects. Various tools are avail-able to industry to help identify appropri-ate research partners in academia, includ-ing personal contact with researchers, sci-entific conferences, a research database used by a number of Swiss universities (forschungsportal.ch), and databases for sci-entific literature (e.g. PubMed, Scirus etc).

swiTT members assist researchers at public research institutions in their dealings with the private sector. In addition, they play an important role in the identification and evaluation of research results with commer-cial potential, and actively promote and mar-ket such technology opportunities to compa-nies interested in developing and marketing new products and services based on univer-sity technologies. swiTT lists many of these opportunities from various research institu-tions in Switzerland on its website.

Industry

In every industry, companies are the big-gest assets. According to Porter, a true clus-ter requires companies with solid histories. Switz erland is known for having many in-novative small and medium-sized compa-nies with a global reach. Often unknown to the public, these quiet champions are old companies that have been seeking new so-lutions or applications. Having built their know-how over decades, they have become integral parts of the cluster, and contribute to the respect commanded by products that are ‘Swiss Made’.

At the networking level, the national in-dustry association for biotechnology, the Swiss Biotech Association (SBA), is moti-vating strategically-selected stakeholders

to trigger developments that will benefit the whole industry. Because of the relative youthfulness and strong academic roots of many companies, the culture among the actors is an open one. The people in the bio tech community view themselves as dif-ferent players than those in older indus-tries with a first-class reputation such as the medical devices industry. The SBA has initiated a platform for ‘Therapeutic Bio-logics’ and a programme called ‘Cleantech by Biotech’ as well as ‘BioActors’, a pro-gram that brings together job-seekers and job-offerers in Switzerland. It also organ-ises networking opportunities for all seg-ments active in the sector. Over the years, the SBA has invested a lot of resources in es-tablishing good working contacts with oth-er industry associations and federal offices. Joint projects between the associations have become increasingly common, and the whole community reaps the rewards.

Life Science Clusters

Another success factor for any country is the presence of active regional clusters, and Switz erland is well-stocked with them. The Berne Capital Area, Bio Alps can be found in the west of the country, the Bio Polo Ticino in the south, while in the north there are the Greater Zurich Area and the Basel Area for Life Sciences.

Berne Capital Area is the global centre of the precision industry, and an extremely val-uable strength for the life science industry. Its international reputation nurtures clusters in both biotechnology and life sciences. Lo-cal industry and academia have been work-ing here together for years in public-private cluster initiatives that consistently provide momentum to the sector.

Bio Alps serves as a shining example of the importance of a matchmaking ability. Initi-ated by five cantons in western Switzerland, the Bio Alps cluster provides pragmatic and non-bureaucratic support of ideas from the laboratory through to international commer-cialisation. The regional presence of a gener-ous world leader such as Merck-Serono with a far-reaching vision for integration, rounds off the selling propositions for Bio Alps.

Bio Polo Ticino is smaller but similar in approach. This cluster covers the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland and also co-operates with the Italian biotech commu-nity, which in turn looks to Switzerland for further growth opportunities.

A recent excellent example of collaborat-ing on know-how is the ‘Toolpoint for Life Sciences’, an organisation at home in the Greater Zurich Area. This bottom-up ver-tical set-up connects more than 25 leading companies from the liquid-handling auto-mation industries. They cooperate in non-competitive or non-critical areas and excel in partnership projects ranging from Hu-man Resources to Regulatory Affairs.

In the Basel Area for Life Sciences, big pharma and the chemical industry are strong magnets for other successful ven-tures. Thanks to the presence of inter-national blue chip firms such as Roche, DSM, Novartis, Lonza, Clariant and Syn-genta, small businesses here develop rap-idly and profit from the attention their big neighbours draw. The close proximity en-ables better know-how exchange, which in turn brings about more value for the par-ticipants in the value chain. Unsurprising-ly, Basel is also an international hot-spot for Life Sciences conferences.

Finance Sector

The biotech industry in Switzerland has de-veloped over the past years into an interna-tionally-recognised focal point, and is sup-ported by an active public and private in-vestor base. In terms of market capitali-sation, the life science companies listed on the SIX Swiss Stock Exchange togeth-er represent the largest peer group of its kind in Europe.

About the author: Domenico Alexakis is a founding partner of Bridge Plus AG. His company manages various projects and initiatives for the stakeholder community of Life Sciences. He also serves as CEO of the Swiss Biotech Association.

http://www.swissbiotech.org

44-45_EBN_11-12_11_Advertorial_Swiss-Biotech.indd 45 08.12.2011 11:32:25 Uhr



Biotechnology

Linking up EU clusters Claire Skentelbery, Brussels

europe has always recognised that critical mass through cooperation is the route to success, and nowhere is this more true than in biotechnology clusters. the eU has spent hundreds of millions of euros supporting both science and business-building, with funding at both regional and european levels. But with the globe in the grip of an economic crisis, the aid that helped clusters develop has begun drying up. For con-tinued growth, cooperation is now no longer just an option, but a necessity. Partner-ships between companies and cluster managers across europe have to increase to maximise the chances of success – or even survival.

Luckily for Europe, economic challenge is nothing new in the biotechnology sector, and clusters have long been aware that the development money would run out. Dem-onstrating sustainability has been a priority for most cluster managers, along with re-turning investment, creating employment

and proving that research from their aca-demic centres can be effectively commer-cialised. Cooperation between clusters has been building for many years now, evolving from ideas and expensive grand plans into practical tools that are affordable and bring direct, measurable benefit for cluster man-

agers and their growing biocommunities. But the benefits of cooperation differ for the cluster managers and their companies.

networking cluster managers

Cluster managers, who often take up the reins in a commercially immature biotech-nology region, must be able to rapidly and effectively develop and deliver biotech sup-port. That means tough decisions on what will work, what will give a maximum return on public funds and how to be very self-crit-ical. Europe is littered with the remains of poorly designed and executed cluster devel-opment plans, and the only way to avoid that fate is by sharing experiences – both good and bad – and moving skills between re-gions. The Council of European Bio Regions was founded over eight years ago by the clusters themselves to do just that, and the benefits are being felt. Cluster manag-ers from over 50 biocommunities in Europe are now working together through a Cluster Manager Group delivered by the EC-funded ABCEurope project and supported by the Council of European BioRegions.The group meets every 2-3 months, and has discussed

Cluster Name URL Cluster Name URL

Alsace, Basel & Baden (Alsace Biovalley) http://alsace-biovalley.com Parco Tecnologico Padano (Lombardia) www.tecnoparco.org

Amsterdam BioMed Cluster (Amsterdam) www.amsterdambiomed.nl Gdansk Science & Techn. Park (Gdansk) www.gpnt.pl

ANAIN-BioNavarra (Navarra) www.anain.com Genopole (Evry) www.genopole.fr

Andalucía BioRegión (Andalucía) www.fibao.es Healthcare & Bioscience iNet (Nottingham) www.eminnovation.org.uk/health

Atlanpole (Nantes) www.atlanpole.fr Heidelberg Technology Park (Heidelberg) www.technologiepark-heidelberg.de

Bio Negev (Negev) www.bgu.ac.il Leiden Bio Science Park (Leiden) www.leidenbiosciencepark.nl

Bioibal (Mallorca) www.bioibal.org LISA Vienna Region (Vienna) http://lisavr.at

BioBASK (Basque region) www.biobask.org Lyonbiopole (Lyon) www.lyonbiopole.com

Biocat (Catalunya) www.biocat.cat Madrid Biocluster (Madrid) www.madridnetwok.org

Biogenouest (West France) www.biogenouest.org MEDICEN PARIS REGION (Paris) www.medicen.org

bioPmed cluster (Piemonte) www.biopmed.eu Nexxus (Scotland) www.nexxusscotland.com

BioM (Bavaria) www.bio-m.de One Nucleus (Cambridge/London) www.onenucleus.com

BioTech North (Tromsø) www.biotechnorth.no Stichting Healthy Ageing Netw. (Groningen) http://hannn.eu

BioTOP Berlin-Brandenburg www.biotop.de Stockholm Science City (Stockholm) www.ssci.se

BioWin (Wallonia) www.bioWin.org Technapoli S. & T. Park (Campania) www.technapoli.it

Capbiotek (Bretagne) www.capbiotek.fr Toscana Life Sciences (Tuscany) www.toscanalifesciences.org

CIBER-BBN (Zaragoza) www.ciber-bbn.es Turku Science Park (Turku) www.turkusciencepark.com

Culminatum Innovation Oy (Helsinki) www.culminatum.fi Uppsala BIO www.uppsalabio.com

FlandersBio (Flanders) www.flandersbio.be

CEBR member biotech centres and networks.

46-47_EBN11-12_11_Spezial_CEBR_tg.indd 46 09.12.2011 11:53:27 Uhr

Nº 11-12 | Volume 10 | 2011

topics such as building cluster culture, cluster assessment, im-plementing cluster strategy, and creating value for cluster actors. Hosted by the clusters themselves (including those in Heidelberg, Stockholm, Munich, Cambridge and Wallonia) the meetings bring together expert speakers and formally assess specific cluster ac-tivities for benefit and transferability between clusters. Results are posted on the CEBR website. The topics have included:– Purchasing scheme for cluster companies – Cambridge/

London– YIC Network – from PharmaValley (France)– Mindbrowser open innovation platform – from Piemonte (Italy)– Transferring biotechnology into classical industry sectors – from

Baden Württemberg (Germany)

Networking cluster companies

If your company doesn’t attend the big partnering meetings in Europe, it is very hard to find and build business and research part-nerships outside your cluster or country, particularly for small com-panies. Clusters are now working together in a much more con-crete fashion to connect firms directly with business partners, re-sources, facilities – everything that Europe already has, but strug-gles to connect. Examples include:– Tools of Science Europe – an online platform that lists expert

facilities that SMEs can access. The platform was launched in Sept ember 2011, with over 200 facilities from 13 clusters. Free to access and free for inclusion until September 2012, the plat-form is growing rapidly, with new facilities being added by clus-ters each month (www.toolsofscience.eu).

– International matchmaking – a virtual partnering programme that has been launched to bring small companies together through skype and phone around specific topics before the cost of travel is incurred. The first programme has been launched – with a fo-cus on oncology, it will take place in February 2012. It is managed by cluster managers around Europe, and makes perfect use of their contacts within their own community. Because it is virtual, there are also minimal costs attached. Effort and company un-derstanding are the key to success

– Technology showcases between clusters – most clusters hold their own conferences, but it is always a challenge to bring in partners from outside, particularly SMEs. A programme of Tech-nology Showcases has been launched between clusters. Held alongside cluster conferences, tech showcases are topic-specif-ic, and cluster managers have selected companies and applied researchers together to showcase themselves to partners they would not meet in their normal working life. The first was held in Toulouse around the topic of Oncology and the second (on In-fections and Immunity) took place as part of the Genesis confer-ence in London.

EC funding has been key to helping clusters cooperate – a pre-requisite for all projects is international collaboration. In the cas-es described above, activities have been designed to be sustaina-ble and affordable, delivered by clusters working in partnership – and long may it continue. Contact: www.cebr.net B

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Clusters

BioWin signs agreement with Shanghai-based biotech park

Responding to the growing interest in the Chinese market expressed by SMEs and research centres in Wallonia that work in the fields of health biotechnologies and medical technologies , BioWin was ea-ger to conclude the agreement. It is the second such agreement concluded with a preferred partner on location in Shang-hai, the Chinese city that has grown into a hub for healthcare innovation. D

A Gosselies – Health competitiveness cluster BioWin (Wallonia, Belgium), an-nounced the signing of a partnership agreement in mid-October with Juke Bio-tech Park. The new publicly-funded sci-ence park in Shanghai is home to more than a hundred Chinese SMEs and re-search centres specialised in health bi-otechnologies and medical technolo-gies. Under the terms of the agreement, BioWin’s permanent representative in Shanghai – “International Relations Man-ager” Laurent Le Guyader – will be pro-vided with operational infrastructure and facilities. Le Guyader reports to Yve van Thorenburg, the cluster’s Internation-

al Relations Manager – Asia, as well as Frédéric Druck, who heads the BioWin international unit. Juke Biotech Park has further undertaken to smooth the path for access to the Chinese market for Bi-oWin members, while BioWin will return the favour, easing access as much as pos-sible for its new partner’s companies to Wallonia, which can be used as a strate-gic gate the European market. The agree-ment was born out of a strategy to de-velop Bio Win activities in China that was launched in 2009 and signed in the course of a recent BioWin and AWEX (Walloon Export and Foreign Investment Agency) mission to the Bio China 2011 trade fair.

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Products & services

Beckman coulter

Custom design for optimised mABs

A nyon – Custom Design Services (CDS) from Beckman Coulter, Inc. provides re-searchers with single and multicolour custom-tailored conjugate configurations, as well as purified antibodies. Beckman Coulter scientists, who have extensive ex-perience in the design and optimisation of multi colour reagent panels, work with a wide variety of proprietary or customer-supplied human and non-human antibod-ies. CDS uses a comprehensive array of fluorochromes to create tests for an ex-pansive range of targets.

Two- to 10-colour panels can be composed using fluorochromes to meet specific ex-perimental requirements. Proprietary tan-dem dye technology provides optimal coup-ling efficiency and enhances signal-to-noise ratio, so dyes can be used to detect low -density antigens without the loss of sensitivity. Anti bodies can be lyophilised or supplied in a specified buffer solution.

Krome Orange, a novel violet-excited organ ic dye from Beckman Coulter, ex-pands the range of available choices and dye sensitivity limits for violet lasers, and facilitates the development of high-quality, multi colour panels. The panels are pack-aged in exclusive black vials to protect against photo bleaching.

For more information on Custom Design Services from Beckman Coulter, please vis-it www.BeckmanCustomDesign.com. D

astra Biotech

Enhancing Dx product ranges

A Berlin – Astra Biotech GmbH is building on the success of its rapidly growing diag-nostics capability by expanding OEM part-nerships, offering complete kits as well as kit components for a wide range of tests. The company manufactures high-quality reagents, allergens, antibodies, recom-binant proteins and assays for the deter-mination of hormones, allergies, heredi-tary diseases and tumour markers. For suppliers of micro arrays, Astra Biotech provides high-quality, ready-to-use glass slides with aldehyde or aminosilane sub-strates. Featuring superior surface homo-geneity and low intrinsic fluor escence and background noise, these products ensure the accuracy of results in this format.

Astra Biotech’s strategy is to become the partner of choice for diagnostics man-ufacturers and a leading supplier of com-ponents for innovative diagnostic pro-cedures. The company offers complete ranges of IVD-compliant assays as well as individual components, so partner or-ganisations can fill gaps in their current portfolio without the expense of further research and development costs. Astra Bio tech is known for its superior products, which incorporate only certified high- purity reagents. These are subject to rig-orous quality control procedures in the company’s manufacturing facilities, thus enabling clear tracking of all component materials. D

molecular Devices

High-content screening systemA sunnyvale – Molecular Devices LLC has launched the XL model of the ImageXpress® Micro System. Improving upon the existing ImageXpress Micro Widefield High-Content Screening System, the ImageXpress Micro XL System offers researchers the ability to image three times the sample area, deliv-ering statistically relevant results in a third of the time.

Incorporating state-of-the-art detector and illumination technologies, the system can capture cellular resolution images us-ing a single field that encompasses 384 wells, maximising content to up to three times that acquired with standard cam-era HCS systems. This increase in field-of-view allows users to image three times the number of objects per image, minimis-

ing the need to tile when capturing size able objects that span the sample. D

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50_52_EBN11-12_11_PI_BK.indd 50 08.12.2011 11:37:52 Uhr

LUGANO: 7-11 May 2012

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The course is tailored to the needs of scientists wishing to commercialize drugs and technologies or entrepreneurs and managers from pharmaceutical or biotech companies.

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Products & services

TAP BiosysTems

TAP receives IMechE accreditationA Royston – TAP Biosystems has been ac-credited by the UK’s leading professional engineering institute, The Institution of Me-

chanical Engineers (IMechE), for the devel-opment of Incorporated and Chartered Engi-neers. The IMechE accreditation means TAP Biosystems is now listed as one of a select group of companies offering professional mentoring and training to support engineers in their career development. The accredita-tion was the culmination of a four-stage se-lection process, including a visit by an IMechE interview panel of engineering experts. In their report, the interviewers noted TAP Bio-systems “high level management support for the scheme, with a wide range of opportuni-ties available to developing engineers.” D

iBA

Smart and gentle cell selectionA Göttingen – Cell biology relies on the investigation of un-manipulated and un-compromised cells. Unlike state-of-the-art receptor-specific isolation proce-dures, the Streptamer approach is fully reversible, i.e. surface-bound staining or isolation reagents are completely re-moved from the cells by biotin (vitamin H). Isolated cells not only preserve their full effector function, but are predestined – from a regulatory perspective – for clin-ical uses such as cell therapy. Strept-amers are designed both for cell stain-ing with different colours (e.g. for fluores-cence-assisted cell sorting) and for posi-tive cell selections with magnetic beads. Sequential positive magnetic selections over multiple cell markers allow the en-richment of highly pure and specific cell preparations, without the need for pre-ceding negative selection steps.

The complete reversibility, i.e. removal of all surface-bound reagents, enables the isolation of authentic cells in their natural

physiological state for research, diagnos-tics and clinical use. Streptamer-purified cell therapeutics have been classified by the European Medicines Agency as “non-advanced therapy medicinal products” (non-ATMP); which makes them subject to considerably fewer regulatory require-ments. For more information, please visit us at www.streptamer.com D

PoRvAiR

HT Filtration of Liquids A segensworth –The Porvair Filtration Group Biofil™ Plus range of microbial- rated cartridges has been developed and manufactured for the filtration of complex biological liquids used in biotechnological processes. Biofil™ Plus uses a naturally hydrophilic polyether sulphone (PES) mem-brane with a mirrored asymmetric pore structure, combined with a unique built-in pre-filtration membrane layer that allows for longer life and higher throughput. When combined with quality all-polypropylene components and high-integrity manufactur-ing techniques, the Biofil™ Plus filter car-tridge is ideally suited to the most demand-ing process conditions. A new comprehen-sive validation guide summarising the exten-sive testing and evaluation program under-taken by Porvair on Biofil Plus cartridges to meet the key demands of the pharma indus-try is also now available. Porvair Biofil™ Plus cartridges are constructed in a clean room

ContactTel : +44-(0)-1763-227-201 [email protected]

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under tightly controlled conditions using ad-vanced, highly-specialised machinery. The quality and consistency of the product is as-sured by Porvair ISO-accredited quality con-trol and manufacturing procedures, which are in place throughout all stages of manu-facture. Biofil™ Plus membrane cartridges are tested for 100% integrity during manu-facture using the forward-flow diffusion test method. For a brochure describing the new Biofil Plus cartridge range, please visit www.porvairfiltration.com. D

ContactTel : +44-(0)[email protected]

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www.LifeScienceAustria.at

Advancing Austrian life science //at the heart of Europe In 2012 meet LISA at >>

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bio.nrw.deBusyness for Biotech.North Rhine-Westphalia’s biotechnology cluster BIO.NRW is a central catalyst for the sustainable development of the state’s biotechnology sector.

It activates cooperation between business, research, investors, and policymakers.

phone: +49-211-3854699-200 • E-Mail: [email protected]

Coaching & Financing

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54_EBN11-12_11_BIONRW.indd 1 06.12.2011 16:19:07 Uhr