New biotechnology firms in Germany: Heidelberg and the BioRegion Rhine-Neckar Triangle

In Germany, in the second half of the nineties, a dynamic development of co mmercial biotechnology took place, undertaken by a considerable number of n ew firms. The following article deals with the foundation of biotechnologic al firms in the BioRegion Rhine- Neckar Triangle (with the center in Heidel berg). For a long time, the development of biotechnology in Germany and in the Rhine-Neckar Triangle was hindered by institutional barriers. The main reasons were the narrowing of company strategies of big chemical and pharma ceutical firms, the low impulses to found biotechnology companies out of ac ademic research, the institutional surroundings not aligned to the needs of biotechnology (e.g. no venture capital market) and finally government rest raints concerning the specific and particularly regional concentrated suppo rt of biotechnology. These particularities are also reflected by the struct ure of the population of young companies in the Rhine-Neckar Triangle. The main emphasis of biotechnology firms is placed on technological services (r esearch on demand) and platform technologies, different sub-areas of therap eutics research (pharmaceutical basic materials, finding active substances) , on the production for the diagnostics industry and on bioinformatics. The se companies do not co-operate much, national and international relations p redominate. Only a few scientists of regional research institutions want to found a biotechnology firm, although the region seems to attract a certain number of company founders from other regions.