The network

The Rhine Neckar BioRegion association unites more than 80 members with the aim of fostering the development of the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region into a leading European life sciences location. Among the members are research institutes such as the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), the universities of Heidelberg, Mannheim and Kaiserslautern and large companies such as Roche Diagnostics, BASF, Merck and Abbott. In addition, over 60 biotech companies and service providers are involved, as are regional public authorities, chambers and associations.

Main activities

The technological focus

Highlights

In 2008, the network participated successfully in the Leading Edge Cluster Competition initiated by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the goal of which is to discover and support Germany's most high-performance clusters. The Rhine-Neckar contribution was the only successful one in the field of life science. The concept of a "Cell-based and molecular medicine biotechnology cluster (BioRN)" which was awarded a public grant of 40 million euros is based on a consortium of about 100 partners from the areas of business, science and politics. In a joint cluster strategy, the aim is to strengthen the existing excellence in the field of cell-based and molecular medicine in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region and to achieve a leading position in Europe. With the help of the grant, the goal is to develop a total of 70 new drugs, diagnostic products and technology platforms as well as approximately 20 innovative services by the year 2013. This will guarantee 400 highly qualified jobs in research and development. It is planned to create another 4,000 jobs by the year 2018. Together with the Heidelberg Technology Park, the association has founded the BioRN Cluster Management GmbH, which manages the coordination, networking, development and marketing of the BioRN cluster. Further partners in this public-private partnership model are the Chambers of Commerce and the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region (MRN).