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Life science in Rheinisches Revier: inexhaustible knowledge and a wealth of experience
The bright prospects for energy and digital investments should not outshine the fact that the life science sector is also driving the transformation of Rheinisches Revier. Companies that settle here can build on a long tradition and find research partners who are doing truly pioneering work.
Plenty of potential for pharma and biotech in western North Rhine-Westphalia
As Germany's leading industrial center, North Rhine-Westphalia is also one of the top locations for the pharmaceutical industry. According to the Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW Köln), North Rhine-Westphalia's share of German pharmaceutical production in 2022 was 17 percent. They also reported that the state accounted for 20 percent of all employees in biotechnology in Germany in 2021. Rheinisches Revier offers a huge contribution to the strength of the location of North Rhine-Westphalia. With leading companies, strong research institutions and versatile areas for new settlements.
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Companies in the pharmaceutical industry in Rheinisches Revier
North Rhine-Westphalia's pharmaceutical expertise is inextricably linked with Bayer. The global player's headquarters are located in Leverkusen, right on the border of Rheinisches Revier. Bayer also has a large production capacity here and is a stakeholder in various companies.
“A world free of pain” – that is the vision of Grünenthal. The research-based pharmaceutical company from Aachen has established itself as a leading global provider of innovative pain therapeutics. One of the keys to its lasting success is strategic R&D partnerships that create synergies in the development process.
Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine has been based in Neuss since 1980, operating for most of that time under the name Janssen. In 2023, 460,000 patients in Germany alone received prescription drugs created by the research-based pharmaceutical company, whose therapeutic areas primarily cover severe illnesses.
In Baesweiler, near Aachen, BBT develops and produces biopharmaceutical active ingredients per order of international pharmaceutical companies. Their focus is on proteins and microorganisms that are already available to customers in the finished dosage form.
production. The industrial services provider currently operates one of Europe's largest chemical sites, the CHEMPARK, which is also located in Dormagen. Currenta Analytik also offers the pharmaceutical industry analytical services for the R&D process and quality control.
Cutting-edge biotechnology research in Rheinisches Revier
In the pharmaceutical and biotech industry, research and development is not just the job of companies. Universities and research institutes also make a significant contribution to progress in these fields. They also supply the next generation of skilled professionals. In Rheinisches Revier, the following four institutions, among others, are working on the future of pharmaceutical supply – always in close cooperation with industry.
At the German University of Excellence, there are various clinical-theoretical institutes in addition to chairs of Biotechnology as well as Pharmacology and Toxicology. For example, for Human Genetics and Genome Medicine, for Stem Cell Biology and Cellular Engineering, for Medical Microbiology and for Medical Informatics. The university hospital belonging to the RWTH operates a research institute for clinical pharmacology.
The Aachen University of Applied Sciences educates talented individuals for the pharmaceutical industry in its Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology. In the Viral Gene Therapy working group, researchers use state-of-the-art methods such as CRISPR/Cas9 to produce gene therapy viruses. The working group also conducts research on DNA-based vaccines.
The Fraunhofer IPT aims to future-proof manufacturing in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. To this end, their experts are automating and networking production processes and investigating how these can be optimized using process data from production line. The overarching goal is to create therapies and therapeutics that are manufactured “to a high standard, efficiently and available to all”.
The campus of the Forschungszentrum Jülich combines 14 institutes, which are divided into 80 areas. The Institute of Bio- and Geosciences (IBG), for example, has its own departments for biotechnology and bioinformatics. The Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM) and the Institute of Biological Information Processing (IBI) are also highly relevant for pharmaceutical research, andare divided into highly specialized institute divisions as well.
The BioökonomieREVIER with its “Biotechnology and Plastics Technology” innovation laboratory
This BioökonomieREVIER anchor project aims to make Rheinisches Revier a model region for sustainable economic activity. To this end, it brings together over 50 institutions, companies, associations, clubs and even private individuals. One of the three innovation clusters of BioökonomieREVIER is dedicated to the topics of Biotechnology and Plastics Technology. Two of this cluster's innovation laboratories can benefit drug development: Automated strain and bioprocess development (AutoBioTech) and SenseUp, the production platform for biological active ingredients.
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Medical technology: many roads lead to Rheinisches Revier
Innovative medical technology is steadily gaining ground in the fields of the life sciences– a development that AI and digitization are likely to further intensify. North Rhine-Westphalia is one of Germany’s medtech engines. Around 750 companies generate over two billion euros in sales here every year. Major international champions feel at home in Rheinisches Revier. Top research, cooperative polymer companies such as Covestro or Lanxess in Dormagen and areas that allow even large-scale settlements could ensure that more of them are added.
A small selection of medical technology companies in Rheinisches Revier
The American company Abiomed is one of the most important manufacturers of heart pumps and has long since added a cloud-based smart platform to its products. Their European headquarters are located in Aachen.
Founded in France in 1962, Vygon has grown into a world-class group. The company manufactures high-tech medical devices for single use, for both diagnosis and therapy, in hospitals and in outpatient care. Vygon has been based in Aachen for over 50 years.
Neurostimulators, pacemakers, insulin pumps: These are just three of the product categories developed by the Irish company Medtronic. With annual sales of more than 30 billion US dollars and around 90,000 employees, it is clear just how much demand there is for its technologies. Their German headquarters are located in Meerbusch, right in Rheinisches Revier.
As a system provider for a wide range of industries, GEA aims to make manufacturing processes more efficient and sustainable. The pharmaceutical industry is among the main customers of this global company. In 2025, the machine and production line engineering firm will open a plant for freeze-drying systems with more than 40,000 m2 of space in Elsdorf in the Rhein-Erft district – a highly digitalized “factory of the future”.
Infinite opportunities in research
For decades, Rheinisches Revier has been setting standards in scientific and technical research. This is mainly because innovations are developed here in collaboration with industry and can therefore be implemented all the more quickly. In medical technology, too, companies can build on a wealth of scientific expertise.
At the Aachen institute, interdisciplinary basic research is combined with application-oriented research and development. The seven main research areas are represented by their own chairs at the renowned RWTH Aachen University. They include Medical Technology, Applied Medical Technology, Medical Information Technology and Experimental Molecular Imaging.
All of the research priorities of the Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Engineering are represented by chairs of the University of Excellence. The campus of the RWTH is also home to the Biomedical Engineering Cluster, which develops “holistic approaches and products for prevention, diagnosis and treatment”. In this context, science and industry work closely together. The cluster also benefits from cooperation with other institutions, including the RWTH's Machine Tool Laboratory and the DWI Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials.
Medical technology students at the FH Aachen have an especially easy time gaining a foothold in the private sector. That’s because the university places a high value on practical relevance. Exchange with industry is an integral part of research projects and scientific work. The FH also has a well-equipped institute for bioengineering (IfB) that is strong in research.
At the internationally renowned Forschungszentrum Jülich, investors from the medical technology industry will find partners for truly high-tech projects. For example, the Electronic Systems department of the Central Institute for Engineering, Electronics and Analytics (ZEA) was involved in the discovery of RASER-MRT, a revolutionary MRT method. The Institute for Neuroscience and Medicine (INM) also has areas relevant to medical technology, including Computational Biomedicine and the Physics of Medical Imaging.
At the Fraunhofer ILT, (laser-assisted) medical technology is a field of technology in its own right. In close cooperation with its partners in the life science sector, the ILT is working on innovations in microsurgery, microfluidics, clinical diagnostics and implants. In addition, biofabrication and biofunctionalization are among their R&D priorities. The Fraunhofer IPT optimizes production processes for medical technology, designs individual system solutions and ensures that products meet regulatory requirements.
Make Rheinisches Revier your life science hub!
Are you looking for a vibrant environment for your life science innovations? Rheinisches Revier has all the right parameters. That includes the agribusiness sub-sector. NRW.Global Business will show you how you can become part of this future-oriented region and connect with a unique professional community.
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