The fifth Innovation Dialogue of the 18th legislative period: the innovative potential of biotechnology

(Photo: FNR/Hardy Müller)

Berlin, 07 November 2016

On 7 November, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Federal Minister of Education and Research Johanna Wanka, head of the Federal Chancellery Peter Altmaier and State Secretary Matthias Machnig (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy) met with representatives of science and industry at the Federal Chancellery for the fifth Innovation Dialogue of the current legislative period. The content of the Innovation Dialogue is prepared by acatech – National Academy of Science and Engineering. On this occasion, the meeting addressed the innovative potential of biotechnology.

Over the coming years, biotechnology could have a transformative impact on many industries and areas of our lives, comparable to that of digitalisation. Scientific breakthroughs are providing biotechnology with new digital techniques for analysing biological processes and are even enabling simple and effective modification of these processes. The economic and social opportunities and challenges associated with biotechnology were thus a very timely topic for the fifth Innovation Dialogue.

Although Germany is a global leader in the life sciences and biotechnology research, it could do better when it comes to translating the results of this research into commercial and medical applications. The discussions addressed the framework required to support the development of a globally competitive biotechnology industry. A long-term approach to research coupled with sufficient access to private venture and growth capital are particularly important for the development of innovative agents and treatments.

The participants in the Dialogue all agreed that public acceptance of new biotech applications will depend on whether or not people see a clear benefit to society. It is important to ensure that the debate among policymakers and the public is informed about the latest technological developments so that people can assess the opportunities and risks based on the most up-to-date knowledge available.

The content for the Innovation Dialogue is prepared by an office at acatech – National Academy of Science and Engineering. The Innovation Dialogue was reconstituted at the start of the 18th legislative period, with five Innovation Dialogues being held during the lifetime of the last parliament. The other topics addressed during this legislative period were:

  • Modern forms of knowledge, technology and information transfer
  • The innovative potential of human-machine interaction
  • Digital connectivity and the future of value creation in the Germany economy
  • International benchmarking of innovation systems and STEM education – an innovation policy challenge

Interview partners

  • Prof. Ruth Arnon, Ph.D. │ The Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel │ Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities
  • Prof. Dr. Patrick Baeuerle │ MPM Capital, Inc.
  • Prof. Dr. Dr. Andreas Barner │ Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH
  • Dr. Siegfried Bialojan │ Ernst & Young GmbH
  • Dr. Kai Bindseil │Berlin Partner für Wirtschaft und Technologie GmbH │ HealthCapital Berlin Brandenburg
  • Dr. Hubert Birner │ TVM Life Science Management GmbH
  • Dr. Norbert Bischofberger │ Gilead Sciences, Inc.
  • Prof. Dr. Thomas Bley │ Technische Universität Dresden
  • Dr. Friedrich von Bohlen │ dievini Hopp BioTech holding GmbH & Co. KG
  • Dr. Axel Bouchon │ Bayer AG
  • Prof. Dr. Axel A. Brakhage │ Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena │ Leibniz-Institut für Naturstoff-Forschung und Infektionsbiologie (HKI)
  • Prof. Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier │ Max-Planck-Institut für Infektionsbiologie
  • Prof. Dr. Peter Dabrock │ Deutscher Ethikrat │ Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
  • Prof. Dr. Horst Domdey │ BioM Biotech Cluster Development GmbH
  • Prof. Dr. Olaf Dössel │ Karlsruher Institut für Technologie
  • Dr. Michael Dreja │ Henkel AG & Co. KGaA
  • Prof. Otniel Dror, M.D., Ph.D. │ The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
  • Prof. Dr. Ina Ebert │ Munich Re AG
  • Prof. Dr. Rainer Fischer │ Fraunhofer-Institut für Molekularbiologie und Angewandte Oekologie IME │ RWTH Aachen
  • Dr. Bernward Garthoff  │ BIO.NRW
  • Dr. Ricardo M. Gent │ Deutsche Industrievereinigung Biotechnologie
  • Prof. Dr. Armin Grunwald │ Büro für Technikfolgenabschätzung beim Deutschen Bundestag │ Karlsruher Institut für Techologie
  • Prof. Dr. Jörg Hacker│  Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina
  • Dr. Peter Heinrich │ Biotechnologie-Industrie-Organisation Deutschland e.V. │ Sinfonie Life Science Management GmbH
  • Prof. Dr. med. Matthias Hentze │European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)
  • Dr. Ingmar Hoerr │CureVac AG
  • Prof. Dr. Reinhard Hüttl │acatech – Deutsche Akademie der Technikwissenschaften │ Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum GFZ │ Bioökonomierat
  • Dr.-Ing. Stephan Kabasci │ Verein Deutscher Ingenieure e.V. │ Fraunhofer-Institut für Umwelt-, Sicherheits- und Energietechnik UMSICHT
  • Prof. Dr. Henning Kagermann │ acatech – Deutsche Akademie der Technikwissenschaften
  • Prof. Dr. med. Christof von Kalle │ Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum │ Nationales Centrum für Tumorerkrankungen Heidelberg
  • Prof. Dr. André Koltermann │ Clariant Produkte (Deutschland) GmbH
  • Marcel Koos │ Munich Re AG
  • Dr. Andreas Kreimeyer │ BASF SE
  • Dr. Christine F. Kreiner │ S&V Technologies AG
  • Dr. Claus Kremoser │ Phenex Pharmaceuticals AG
  • Dr. Werner Lanthaler │ Evotec AG
  • Prof. Dr. med. Thomas Lenarz │ Medizinische Hochschule Hannover
  • Prof. Dr. Andreas Lendlein │ Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht GmbH │ Universität Potsdam
  • Prof. Dr. Efrat Levy-Lahad │ Shaare Zedek Medical Center
  • Dr. Simon E. Moroney │ MorphoSys AG
  • Prof. Dr. Bernd Müller-Röber │ Universität Potsdam
  • Dr. Gitte Neubauer│ Cellzome GmbH (GlaxoSmithKline)
  • Prof. Paul Nurse, Ph.D. │ The Francis Crick Institute
  • Dr. Stefan Oschmann │ Merck KGaA
  • Dr. Tobias Ostler │ Dr. Regenold GmbH
  • Dr. Dennis A. Ostwald │ WifOR GmbH
  • Prof. Dr. Alfred Pühler │ Universität Bielefeld
  • Prof. Dr. Ortwin Renn │ Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Potsdam
  • Prof. Dr. Hermann Requardt │ Siemens AG
  • Prof. Michel Revel, M.D., Ph.D. │ The Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel
  • Prof. Dr. Helga Rübsamen-Schaeff │ AiCuris GmbH & Co. KG
  • Peer M. Schatz │ Qiagen GmbH
  • Prof. Dr. med. Thomas Schmitz-Rode │ RWTH Aachen
  • Prof. Dr. Hans Schöler │ Max-Planck-Institut für molekulare Biomedizin
  • Dr. Julia Schüler │ BioMedServices
  • Dr. Thomas Schwarz │ b.experts GmbH
  • Prof. Dr. Petra Schwille  │ Max-Planck-Institut für Biochemie
  • Prof. Dr. Jochen Taupitz │ Universität Mannheim
  • Dr. Christian Tidona │ Biotech-Cluster Rhein-Neckar Management GmbH │ BioMed X GmbH
  • Prof. Dr. Wiltrud Treffenfeldt │ DOW Europe GmbH │ Bioökonomierat
  • Dr. Matthias Urmann │ Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH
  • Michael Vassiliadis │ IG Bergbau, Chemie, Energie
  • Edgar Vieth│ Roche Diagnostics GmbH
  • Prof. Dr. Martin Vingron │ Max-Planck-Institut für molekulare Genetik
  • Prof. Dr. Detlef Weigel │ Max-Planck-Institut für Entwicklungsbiologie
  • Prof. Dr. Günther Wess │ Helmholtz Zentrum München
  • Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Wiechert │ Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH
  • Prof. Hans Wigzell, M.D., Ph.D. │ Karolinska Institutet, Schweden
  • Dr. Holger Zinke │ B.R.A.I.N. AG │ Bioökonomierat

Interviewpartner aus Ministerien:

  • Gerhard Bleser │ Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie
  • Susanne Flechsig │ Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie
  • Dr. Stefanie Großwendt │ Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung
  • Dr. Klaus Heider │ Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft
  • Dr. Ramón Kucharzak │Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung
  • Dr. Michael Meister, MdB │ Bundesministerium der Finanzen
  • Oliver Schenk │ Bundesministerium für Gesundheit