Around seventy start-up companies are based at the business park. They mainly focus on biotechnology, medical technology, diagnostics and analysis, and healthcare. ‘We are the largest cluster for life sciences in Eastern Bavaria.’ V.O. has also had a branch at BioPark for 10 years.

The most active areas of research within BioPark are oncology, neuroscience, autoimmune diseases and regenerative medicine. ‘We are seeing many developments in personalized medicines focused on immunotherapy. This is an expensive therapy in which a sample of a cancer cell is returned to the patient together with their own T cell. But we are also seeing rapid growth in the integration of IT and AI in healthcare. These companies focus primarily on data-driven solutions.’

The life science and health sector is not an easy sector to start in. This is partly due to the highly regulated German healthcare market. ‘If you keep a close eye on the rules, you can build a good business,’ says Diefenthal. A start-up goes through a number of phases when developing a product. Broadly speaking, these are the research phase, preclinical studies, clinical development and market approval. ‘It is relatively easy to move from the research phase to the lab test phase with preclinical studies.’ From phase 3 – clinical development – start-ups need pharmaceutical companies, manufacturers and health insurers to take their invention further. These are costly processes. ‘We therefore usually see start-ups being hired by a company from that phase onwards, if that company believes that the innovation fits with their business strategy. One of our companies – GENEART – has even become part of the American company Thermo Fischer Scientific, which operates worldwide.’

BioPark helps university spin-offs and start-ups set up businesses. The German healthcare market has specific obstacles and industry-specific issues such as certification, reimbursement and clinical evidence. A start-up needs to be aware of all these issues at an early stage. "When I had my own biotech company, I learned not to do everything myself. When you get your first big contract, all kinds of other issues come up, such as legal and commercial agreements. At the time, my mentor gave me the good advice not to try to figure it all out on my own. I think that's the most important thing for small and medium-sized companies to learn: Hiring a consultant always pays for itself."

Many start-up ideas fail at an early stage because they do not meet the various legal requirements for the development of medical products. ‘That's a shame. That's why we started the Jump accelerator program.’ Innovators who believe they have an innovative idea that addresses a problem in healthcare and that does not yet exist are welcome to join the program. ‘During an intensive program, start-ups receive support from multiple partners in our network. For example, from an insurance company, lawyers or patent attorneys from V.O. Within about six months, our experts assess whether an idea is viable to pursue and provide advice. This allows start-ups to further prepare themselves.’

Once a start-up is ready to scale up, it needs investors. "The first question an investor will ask is whether the innovation is protected. In life sciences and health, we are increasingly seeing so-called platform technologies: a reusable infrastructure and architecture that can also be used for the development of multiple products or applications." Recent examples of this are mRNA technology for COVID vaccines and the CRISPR gene editing system. ‘If you can protect these kinds of technologies against infringement, you really have a head start. You need patent attorneys for that because it's not easy to draft such patent application. It's a challenge to protect both the platform technology and the artificial intelligence on which it is based.’

Diefenthal advocates that companies first get their basics in order before they grow. ‘It is important that start-ups realize that a business plan is not the same as a PowerPoint pitch. And that you also need to have your legal documents, such as non-disclosure agreements, in order.’ V.O. also helps innovative entrepreneurs at BioPark with these “classic” matters.