NEW GERMAN BIOTECHNOLOGY ORGANISATION ESTABLISHED

German biotech companies have established a new industry association, to be known as BIO. Notably, the group has a namesake in the US, and the new body is expected to meet long-standing German demands for enhanced local sector representation. According to spokesman Peter Heinrich, the country's existing pharmaceuticals sector groups, the DIB and the VBU, have historically failed to sufficiently influence decision-making on the industry's behalf. The new Berlin-based group will also campaign for improved European patent recognition for breakthrough biotech products.

Germany's biotech sector is small compared to its more conventional research-based peers, although clearly the industry feels the need for an independent voice for its potentially lucrative innovations. German healthcare major Bayer recently realigned its US operations to create a speciality pharmaceuticals business, which is to focus on high-profit speciality and biotechnology products.