Current BioPark Annual Report 2016
The number of biotechnology companies (core biotech definition according to CapGemini Consulting) is in comparison to the previous year with 30 companies almost unchanged (- 1). The number of biotech employees has in fact fallen slightly from 1,235 to 1,152 (- 7 %) due to company restructuring. Concurrently the number of employees in the remaining life science companies rose from 2,628 to 2,720 (+ 4 %). The total number of employees at the closing date 31.12.2016 remained with 3,872 at an almost changed level to the previous year with 3,863 employees (+ 0.3 %) (see graph 1). With a leaseholder utilization level totalling 91.3 % the BioPark accommodates currently 33 leaseholders with a total of 561 employees in its three buildings on a gross area of 18,000 m2. This includes startup companies, universities and institutions external to the university, German and foreign companies, as well as service providers right up to its own child care facility.
In fact Managing Director Dr Thomas Diefenthal sees further great potential in the field of the life sciences at this location, however is also observing increasing difficulties in the financing of young enterprises. "In fact there are multiple funding and support options, but many young companies remain on the home stretch with secured loans with the latter 20% of their financing plan on this stretch and only get past this point with difficulty", commented Dr Diefenthal on the situation. "It becomes a further paradox. Whilst credit approval for example in real estate is growing constantly, the willingness to invest, particulartly in borrowed capital, in innovative young enterprises is continually sinking" added Dr Diefenthal. This has an impact at the moment in the stagnation of the financial figures (see graph 2).
However Diefenthal also sees further positive development. During the 2015 Businessplan Competition for North Bavaria unfortunately initially not a single start-up in the field of the life sciences from East Bavaria was able to register. Now teams from this field are represented. "Also with our start-up weekends and investor evenings which we conduct together with our affiliated company TechBase in Regensburg, we succeed in acquiring new ideas and teams on-site", added Co-managing Director Dieter Daminger, also a Councelor for Economy, Financial and Research Affairs to the City of Regensburg. Further potential is also arising from the new project "Healthcare" (also see press releases no. 162 et seq.). In our own full-day workshop on the topic of start-ups and developing innovation on the 15th February at the BioPark, experts from the Regensburg tertiary institutions, the City of Regensburg, the clusters and start-up centers, as well as successfully founded companies will come together. The goal is to develop recommendations for action and framework conditions for the Masterplan "Healthcare Regensburg", to promote the start-up scene in this booming industry and to use this potential for the region.
