Think global, be successful
More than 70 firms are bustling with activity in the field of biotechnology in Adlershof
More than 70 firms are bustling with activity in the field of biotechnology in Adlershof in branches as diverse as pharmacy, medicine, process and environmental engineering. Increasingly, they are using the Biotechnology Centre in Berlin’s southeast as a launching pad to international success.
Heidrun Terytze has been the head of Centre for Biotechnology and Environment in Adlershof since it opened 17 years ago. From her glass office on the ground floor of Volmerstraße, she takes care of small and medium-sized companies that have rented offices, laboratories and production sites in the Science Park and employ a total of about 400 people. The certified biologist benefits from her own education: “I know what our customers need.”
For a while now, Terytze’s work has become more multifaceted because of the increasing importance of being internationally connected in the booming biotech industry. Every eighth company in her field has international contacts, and this trend is on the increase. “Pharmaceutical companies, especially, are very active in the U.S. market,” says Terytze. Therefore, the centre manager now regularly explains to interested parties from overseas which modes of support and basic lab equipment the biotechnology centre offers.
Terytze remembers: “When we started here in 1998, many people thought in national terms.” Meanwhile, Adlershof has “committed itself to internationalisation”. Whether it's the ageing society and its growing demand for pharmaceuticals or the fight against infectious diseases and antibiotic resistances – pressing research issues in biotechnology cannot be “tackled from an ivory tower, but only with a global perspective.”
The short paths between business and science attract worldwide active biotech firms to Adlershof, says Helge Neumann, who is responsible for international networking on behalf of WISTA-MANAGEMENT GMBH. The BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, and the Leibniz-Institute for Analytical Sciences and the Department of Chemistry of Humboldt-University are active on the site – as well as many companies with potential for cooperation. ”Companies from abroad come here, because they find partners all along the value creation chain,” says Neumann who has presented the Technology Park to at least 20 visitor groups since last autumn alone.
The Adlershof start-up centre offers support to international companies from outside Europe in any given situation: it helps to organise language courses, find apartments or review business plans. “Particularly for companies from outside Europe the bureaucratic barriers are often very high,” says Neumann. For a while now, foreign companies have been able to move into an office for one week free-of-charge and arrange initial get-togethers. As part of the so-called Berlin Welcome Package, interested parties can test Berlin as a business location for up to three months to see if it suits their needs.
In June, Neumann and Terytze will travel together to the largest biotech trade fair worldwide, BIO in San Diego, to showcase the strengths of Adlershof. Some requests are best dealt with in person, says Terytze. “We are always watching out for things we can improve for our international customers.
By Claudia Wessling for Adlershof Special