Statistics
German Biotechnology in 2005
Just two decades ago, biotechnology in was taking its first developmental steps in the marketplace. Today, it is firmly established as a commercial branch. This is the picture emerging from the recent national biotechnology survey, taking in biotech companies of all sizes from across , and carried out by biotechnologie.de on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF). For the first time in this sector, the data complies with statistical standards as set by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), allowing for a reliable and internationally comparable description of the German biotech landscape.
Financial situation
Considering its employee- and age-structure, the financial situation of German biotechnology is notable. In 2005, the 480 dedicated biotech enterprises generated approximately 1.5 billion euros of turnover, hand-in-hand with an R&D budget of about 700 million euros. These figures were calculated on the basis of the companies’ own declarations within the survey.
An important source of financing for the German Biotech industry is venture capital (VC). Altogether, 44% of the dedicated Biotech enterprises, 211 in all, were VC-financed in 2005. These investments amounted to approximately 262 million euros. This data is based on the declarations made by the companies themselves and is not an extrapolation.
The survey only requested figures for the sums that were invested in the companies in 2005. These figures do not correspond to financing rounds, the payments of which can sometimes run over several years. Other financing sources, for example the public capital markets, were not regarded as transactions to be included in the survey.
In the same period, 35% of the dedicated Biotech enterprises, 168 in all, received grants or subsidies from the Government, the Federal States or local authorities. The sum total for 2005 amounts to approximately 50 million euros (49.700.000 euros), from figures given by the companies themselves. Therefore, according to the survey, the majority of investment in the German Biotech industry comes from private sources.
Financial figures of the German biotech sector in 2005
| Turnover of the dedicated biotech companies | 1.538.000.000 euros |
| Research and Development expenditure of the dedicated biotech companies | 714.000.000 euros |
| Grants or subsidies to the dedicated biotech companies from the Government, Federal states or local authorities | 49.700.000 euros |
| Number of VC-financed dedicated biotech companies | 211 (44%) |
| Number of publicly funded dedicated biotech companies | 168 (35%) |
Source: Biotechnology company survey 2006 by biotechnologie.de