Seminar Three: Regenerative Therapies Made in Saxony
Wednesday 4th November 2020
Dresden and Leipzig are internationally recognised leaders in immunological and genetic research as well as the development and patient application of novel cell therapies. Both locations complement each other excellently in terms of basic research, applied research, clinical trials, and patient care. Going forward, Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz will further integrate to create Germany’s cluster champion for “living medicines” – SaxoCell. By bringing together the strengths of Saxony’s top research institutes, medical institutions, and industries, SaxoCell will develop production methods and applications for new “living medicines” that will make the costs for healthcare systems affordable and enable broader medical applications and thus a realistic economic model with high value-added potential. Research leaders from the German state’s cell and gene therapy sector together with representatives from the business support organisations will talk about the strengths, opportunities, and challenges that Saxony’s life sciences ecosystem presents. Attendees will get insights into one of Germany’s most business-friendly life sciences environments, take away lessons learned and share their questions.
Why the online seminar series?
Germany is the largest market for healthcare and life sciences products in Europe. Market size, growth and demand make it an obvious choice for medtech, biotech and health tech companies seeking to expand their international footprints. However, deciding on the right strategy, partners, and operational base for a successful entrance to the German healthcare market can be a challenge.
The Free State of Saxony’s economic development and pathway organisations have therefore partnered up to deliver a series of online seminar series for companies with an interest in the German healthcare market. Over the next few months, we will present the framework conditions, business support services and the various opportunities that Saxony offers to companies in the health tech, biotech, medtech and pharma sectors.
Seminar Three Speakers
Axel Kullick has 10+ years of experience in international trade and investment promotion. Having previously been with Germany Trade & Invest as well as MIDAS/Marketing Manchester, he now works for Germany’s thriving Leipzig region. Axel helps life sciences companies develop the best location strategy, find the right property, and access the sector support services available.
Barbara Weigert studied International Relations with focus on economic trade and international investments. She started her working experience at the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce focusing on international affairs. Since 7 years Barbara works for the Saxony Economic Development Corporation – a state owned company of the Saxon Ministry of Economy. She is responsible for Inward Investment in Life Sciences and supports incoming companies to benefit from the regional economic success by finding partners for cooperation, getting funded with the right program and finding the best location within the region.
CEO, denovoMATRIX
Dr. André Gerth is the President and CEO of BioPlanta GMbH. His main areas of focus are the establishment and management of the stem cell laboratory, development and manufacturing of stem cell products and the clinical trial and licensing of stem cell pharmaceuticals and tissue engineered products. André is also the Chief Executive Office of FamiCord Deutschland GmbH and the previous Chief Executive Officer of Vita 34 AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange, prime standard).
Thomas Tradler is Head of Business Development and Patent Management at Fraunhofer IZI, Germany and the Chief Executive Officer at Tutelacell GmbH. He is also serving on the board of directors of the Centre for Commercialization of Cancer Immunotherapies (C3i) in Montreal (Canada). Thomas has a scientific background in biochemistry. Thomas received his M.Sc. in Biology from the Martin-Luther-University Halle- Wittenberg and his Ph.D. from the Max-Planck-Institute for Biochemistry, Research Unit Halle, Germany prior to completing MBA postgraduate studies at the University of Potsdam.
Why Saxony?
With strong clusters in the cities of Leipzig and Dresden, Saxony forms one of Germany’s most dynamic life sciences regions today. The federal state is home to more than 300 biotech, pharma and medtech companies as well as 30 research institutions, including brand names like Fraunhofer and Leibniz.
Research and innovation in Germany are meant for the rapid commercialisation of cutting-edge technologies. This is particularly the case in Saxony’s life sciences sector comprising everything from cell and gene therapies, molecular diagnostics and biomaterials to digital health and smart medical devices.
Saxony prides itself with being a leader in interdisciplinary research as well as medical translation. With the Saxonian Incubator for Clinical Translation (SIKT) in Leipzig and the Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden (CRTD), two ground-breaking research centres for regenerative medicine are in Saxony. Three leading-edge interdisciplinary innovation centres are also based in the region: The B CUBE Dresden (molecular bioengineering), the ICCAS Leipzig (computer-assisted surgery), and the OncoRay Dresden (medical radiation research).
To help companies bring their products and services to market, navigate the regulatory framework, grow, and internationalise their business, Saxony’s pathway, cluster management and economic development organisations work closely together. The online seminar series will give you the chance to learn about the free support and consultation services as well as the funding and incentive programmes available from the various institutions in Saxony.
The online seminar series is organised by the Saxony Economic Development Corporation (Wirtschaftsförderung Sachsen), the Invest Region Leipzig GmbH and biosaxony. For more information please contact:
Barbara Weigert
Project Manager Acquisition, Inward Investment
[email protected]
Axel Kullick
Manager International Market Development
[email protected]
Seminar Two: Molecular Biotechnology Made in Saxony
Wednesday 26th August 2020
Owing to the on-going pandemic, molecular biotechnology has now taken centre stage. As this rapidly growing discipline is a core strength of Saxony’s life sciences sector, we would like to showcase the German state’s capacity across the field to a wider professional audience. Representatives from the German state’s business support organisations together with select business leaders from the molecular biotechnology sector will talk about the strengths, opportunities, and challenges that Saxony’s life sciences ecosystem presents. Attendees will get insights into one of Germany’s most business-friendly life sciences environments, take away lessons learned and share their questions. View the session below:
Seminar Two Speakers
– Medicinal Chemist by training
– PhD from TU Dresden (1987)
– 30 years in pharmaceutical companies in Germany, Belgium and Finland, heading drug discovery and development organizations
– Co-founder and COO of DyNAbind
Dr. Norman Gerstner is representing the Molecular Diagnostics Group (MDG), a German family business with a focus on personalized medicine. Headquartered in Dresden, Saxony, the group consists of 3 portfolio companies that combine their expertise in molecular diagnostics (Biotype GmbH), radiopharmaceuticals (ROTOP Pharmaka GmbH), and digital applications (qualitype GmbH) to commercialize novel solutions for personalized diagnostics.
At Biotype, Norman is heading the innovation department and strategic business development activities. He has over 10 years professional experience at the convergence of life sciences and health technologies, both in academia (one of Germany’s leading Max Planck Institutes) and industry (corporate, spin-off/startup).
Mrs. Antholz is Managing Director of Mannin GmbH, the European subsidiary of Mannin Research Inc. based in Toronto, Canada, and a German Attorney-at-Law. In her role, she is responsible for Mannin’s German operations as well as EU network.
Prior to her role at Mannin GmbH, Mrs. Antholz was the lead of Deloitte Germany’s service line for Global Investment & Innovation Incentives. Mrs. Antholz has advised clients in all areas of tax and R&D incentive funding, which is a key revenue source for Mannin. In that function, Mrs. Antholz has successfully closed a EUR 7 million grant for Mannin GmbH in 2019.
Seminar One: Smart Medical Solutions Made in Saxony
Tuesday 30th June 2020
Smart medical devices will rapidly transform the delivery of health prevention and healthcare. This sessions showcased first-hand about the state of play in Saxony’s digital health sector. Representatives from the German state’s business support organisations together with select business leaders from the smart medical devices sector talked about the strengths, opportunities, and challenges that Saxony’s life sciences ecosystem presents. View the session below:
Seminar One Speakers
André Hofmann is Vicepresident of the biosaxony association and CEO of the biosaxony Management GmbH. He has an engineering degree in medical technology and a scientific background in biotechnology – especially in biomaterials research. From 2007 to 2012 he was working as Sector Manager LifeSciences for the Office of Economic Development of the City of Dresden to develop the local LifeScience-Hub. Since 2013 he is responsible for the saxon LifeScience clusterorganisation biosaxony e.V. with now 125 members. In 2014 he additionally took the position of the CEO of the BIO-NET Leipzig Technology-Transfer corporation to foster the cooperation between academia and economy.
Dr. Ronny Grunert has been successfully managing 3D printing and multiple projects for over 15 years. He studied Applied Physics / Biomedical Engineering specializing in Medical Physics. In 2007, his colleague and he from the University of Leipzig founded the company Phacon, which in 2010 was one of the finalists of the German Founder Award and to this day produces anatomical models for surgical training.
Benedict Rehbein (38) is one of the founders of eCovery GmbH based in Leipzig. He studied Media and Communications Sciences at the University of Leipzig and founded his first company – a marketing agency – in 2007. Since his very first years Benedict used to wrestle and made his way into the national wrestling team. That’s where he met Dr. Alexander Georgi who also wrestled and studied in Leipzig. He told Benedict about his concerns regarding today’s rehabilitation process. Half a year later, the idea of eCovery was born and ready to go. Today, Benedict is Managing Partner at eCovery GmbH and responsible for marketing and investor relations. He is based in Leipzig, married and has 2 kids. You can find him in almost all channels, e.g. he tweets about marketing and ehealth on Twitter via @brehbein
Janis is a medical doctor and leading the business development at AICURA medical. Prior to his current role, Janis began working on his PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences and worked part-time as a psychiatric physician. Janis’ PhD focuses on brain imaging and the effects of stress on brain plasticity. Having experienced the massive translational gap that exists between innovative data-driven research and outdated technology in clinical practice firsthand, he joined AICURA medical to improve healthcare delivery by bridging the translational gap.