From January to March, Germany’s Federal Ministry for Education and Research conducted a survey of 645 biotechnology companies. Revenues for the 496 “dedicated” biotech companies, defined as companies predominantly focused on biotech, increased 14% in 2007 to €2.1 billion ($2.9 billion), and R&D spending rose 8% to €1.05 billion. These companies have 14,360 employees in total, but 86% employ 50 people or less. By field, 44% are focused on the development of medicines or diagnostics for humans or animals. However, 40% are focused on varied areas, a category that includes service providers and biotech suppliers. Industrial biotechnology is the focus of 8% of the biotech companies, 5% are focused on agricultural biotech and 4% are bioinformatics companies. Eighty-one companies have a total of 127 drugs in clinical development, 28 of which are in phase III testing or are awaiting approval. The survey also noted 91 additional German companies have biotech businesses as well as businesses in related areas, such as pharmaceuticals or chemicals. These companies have a total of 15,210 employees. Of these companies, 46% are involved in health, 36% are involved in agriculture and 12% are involved in industry.

Source: Federal Ministry for Education and Research