North Rhine- Westphalia: Biotechnology Pole Position N ew research findings in the life sciences are being acquired at a breathtaking speed. Accordingly, the dynamics of innovation are making an impact across all fields of application. As the result of demographic developments, life sciences are becoming increasingly significant. Life sciences are what our society needs. Prof. Andreas Pinkwart – Minister of Innovation, Science, Research and Technology North Rhine- Westphalia (NRW) – at Life & Brain, a leading center of applied biomedical sciences in Bonn, Germany.    North Rhine- Westphalia has evolved as one of Germany's biotechnology powerhouses. This relatively young sector benefits from a supportive environment in the shape of the research departments of the major pharmaceutical and chemical players like Bayer, Henkel, Schwarz Pharma, Madaus, Grünenthal, sanofi-aventis, Degussa and their innovating impetus.    Conditions are excellent in North Rhine- Westphalia for both domestic and international company founders, researchers and scientists. Approximately three- quarters of biotech research in this state is carried out in the region around Cologne. Since 2001, this biotechnology heartland of North Rhine-Westphalia has also been known as 'BioRiver®'.    No other German bio- region boasts more jobs, sales and profits in the biotechnology sector than BioRiver®. Virtually all fields of application of life sciences, biotechnology and medical engineering play a prominent part in research and development in this region. Located right at the hub of Europe's densest network of higher education institutions and, together with the well- established chemicals and pharma companies based here, BioRiver® provides excellent conditions and opportunities for start- ups in the emerging biotech business.    For several years, North Rhine- Westphalia has been attracting more and more foreign direct investment. Of all the 16 German states, NRW receives the lion's share of direct investment into the country: 30.4 percent or 160 billion euro. If Luxembourg is disregarded on the grounds of its special status as a tax haven, then the USA is the biggest investor in NRW, accounting for 17.1 percent of foreign direct investment volume in NRW followed by the direct neighbour, the Netherlands.    North Rhine- Westphalia as an investment location offers outstanding conditions to companies, scientists and researchers: NRW is home to 20 of the 50 largest German companies, as well as some 723,000 small and medium sized enterprises. NRW has 58 universities with 32,000 scientists and researchers and 470,000 students, tomorrow's intake of the science and business sectors. Ideal conditions for the transfer of technology can be found at 63 science parks, 60 non- university research facilities, including 11 Max Planck Institutes, 14 Fraunhofer Institutes and two independent research facilities – the Research Center Jülich and the German Aerospace Center – and another 100 or so affiliated institutions.    North Rhine- Westphalia is home to 100 pharmaceutical enterprises. The number of biotech research companies has nearly tripled since 1997. These companies include internationally renowned companies such as: Qiagen, Miltenyi Biotec, Paion or Amaxa, to name but a few. A tight network has been formed of a total of approximately 80 biotech core companies and over 100 biotech suppliers and service providers. Many biotech companies have emerged as spin-offs of universities in North Rhine-Westphalia.    The new 'Life Sciences Innovation Platform' in the Ruhr area combines scientific institutions and companies under one roof in order to strengthen the transfer between science and economy. The central pillar of the platform is the Max Planck Center for Systems Biology: Here methods and findings of various life science disciplines are combined in order to develop meaningful models. Further companies are expected to settle around the platform and the aim is also to increase the number of start-ups. The State of North Rhine- Westphalia supports the 'Life Sciences Innovation Platform' with around US$50 million. Thus, a project has been brought into being which can hold its own with the renowned "Institute for Systems Biology" in Seattle.    'Bio Europe', Europe's number one biotechnology partnering event, is being held this year in Düsseldorf and provides a platform for Europe's biotech players to meet partners from across the world. We are delighted that the organizers appreciate the benefits and the excellence of the venue so much that they have now opted for North Rhine- Westphalia for the third time running. We are looking forward to presenting our state as a biotech center with outstanding conditions, partners, scientists, researchers and companies to the anticipated 1,500 international visitors as well as all investors in the Rhine and Ruhr area.