Cooperations and clinical pipeline

For the first time, the company survey contained questions concerning the relations of the dedicated biotechnology companies with third parties along the value chain and their cooperation. A first view of the data (see Abb. 10) – based on the answers of 270 companies – shows very clearly, that biotech companies have especially close relations with research institutes.

Cooperations of dedicated biotechnology companies along the value chainSource: biotechnologie.de

By far, they make up the largest part (47 %). Furthermore, the firms also have a lot of contacts with industrial partners (24 %), even more than with other biotech companies (22 %). Another result of the survey is, that the majority of the cooperations are in the early stages of the value chain.Drug candidates of dedicated biotechnology companies along the value chainSource: biotechnologie.de

Clinical pipeline

Biotechnological application in the health sector is noticed most by the public. In 2008, the Berlin-based Jerini AG hit the headlines with the European approval of its drug Firazyr (Icatibant) – again another German product had reached the market. The Germans are outstanding on the biosimilar market. Thus, the biotech companies Merckle Biotech and Biogenerix, both belonging to the group of Ratiopharm, gained market approval for the growth factor Ratiograstim. Now, the approved therapeutics of German biotech companies are a total of 6 (see Tab. 2).
In 2008, the number of products in the clinical pipeline has slightly declined. At present, drug candidates from 49 of the dedicated biotechnology companies in Germany are in advanced clinical development. In 2008, these enterprises had a total of 98 candidates in clinical studies of Phase I, II and III. In 2007, they still accounted for 127.

Approved therapeutics of dedicated biotechnology companiesSource: biotechnologie.de

As seen in previous years, the majority of the clinical projects (89) are in early development (I+II). The more advanced pipeline of the companies comprises twelve candidates, three of which are in approval process and nine in Phase III. Here, the candidates were counted only once, even if approvals for different markets are targeted or studies in different indications are being carried out. For example, the trifunctional cancer antibody, for which Trion and Fresenius Biotech have applied an approval in the European and American market (and gained EMEA-approval in April 2009), was counted only one time.