Pharmaceutical Industry
Baden-Wuerttemberg represents the most important location in Germany for the pharmaceutical industry. With more than 200 companies, the sector is well positioned in the southwest of the federal state. Besides the production and commercialization of pharmaceutical products, the pharmaceutical companies are developing new active ingredients and producing generic drugs.
Pharmaceutical industry in Baden-Wuerttemberg
The pharmaceutical industry produces medicinal products for human and veterinary use. Besides finished medicinal products, vaccines and serums, the industry's product portfolio also includes tissue engineered products and diagnostic tools.
But as well as being the most important location for pharmaceutical research and production, Baden-Wuerttemberg does also employ the largest workforce of the German pharmaceutical industry.
A number of renowned companies such as Boehringer Ingelheim, the generic drug's manufacturer Ratiopharm, foreign pharmaceutical giants like Roche Diagnostics Ltd. and GlaxoSmithKline - one of the leading research-oriented pharmaceutical companies worldwide - are established in Baden-Wuerttemberg. A major intersection of the pharmaceutical industry exists with the companies operating in the field of biotechnology.
The pharmaceutical industry is one of the most research-intensive sectors. Particularly the major undertakings have their own research and development departments. Their research activities are complemented by a large number of university and research institutions, including for instance the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg. The creation of networks between stakeholders of research and industry within Baden-Wuerttemberg is stimulated by the state agency BIOPRO.
Future efforts of the pharmaceutical industry shall be focused on new solutions for disease prevention, diagnosis and therapy. Industry experts are expecting great synergies and groundbreaking innovations, notably arising from an intensified cooperation with biotechnology companies.