Health Care Industry
Outstanding medical engineering, innovative pharmaceutical companies and modern biotechnology – Baden-Württemberg is one of the top locations of the European health care industry.
In the Federal Republic of Germany, Baden-Württemberg is one of the top regions for companies that are active in the health care industry. Considering the number of companies respectively the number of employees, the federal state is the largest medical technology, biotechnology and pharmaceutical location in Germany. Moreover, Baden-Württemberg leads the way in the production of herbal and homoeopathic medicines.
In the southwest, 1,094 companies operating in the areas of medical engineering, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology employ more than 98,500 people (2019) and engage in production, research and/or development. In 2019, these companies together reported a taxable turnover of more than 25 billion euros. The health care industry is an attractive foreign trading partner and the third largest exporter in Baden-Württemberg. What all three sectors have in common is their above-average expenditure on research and development. There are also numerous material suppliers and service providers active on their behalf. The good network of suppliers, users, provider and sellers in the state ensures optimum utilisation of all resources along the value-added chains.
The great effectivness of the health care industry is based on two factors: Baden-Württemberg's strong nucleus of small and medium-sized companies and numerous large corporations that have their offices or factories here. Together, they represent as group of employers that are crisis-proof and exhibit a strong allegiance to the region.
In Baden-Württemberg, numerous small and medium-sized health care enterprises, material suppliers, research institutions, university clinics and non-sector technology fields all collaborate with each other closely and thus have a determining effect on the industry‘s innovativeness. As a result, strong clusters, networks and health care areas have emerged and developed in different regions of the state. Regionally or throughout the state, they look after the interests of the health care industry and network the various players that are active in the German southwest.
The central contact point for the health care industry is the state-owned company BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg GmbH. Its aim is to strategically network partners in the region in order to activate the existing potential for innovation, exploit available synergies and make the various types of competence and focal orientation of the state‘s health care industry visible internationally. When it comes to supporting innovative ideas in the form of products and services, BIOPRO also offers comprehensive assistance (advice on the establishment of a company, business plan check, advice on subsidies etc.).
Exemplary industry institutions:
With more than 70 universities and over 100 non-university research institutions, Baden-Württemberg is one of the top science locations in Germany. Teaching and research are conducted on the very highest level. The health care industry also profits from this.
The state‘s universities offer numerous courses of study in the areas of human medicine, health care and natural sciences, thus generating a continuous supply of highly qualified young academics. The companies in the health care industry are embedded in a multi-facetted and intersectorally active research landscape. In addition to the five university clinics (Freiburg, Heidelberg, Mannheim, Tübingen and Ulm) and the participation of Baden-Württemberg in six healthcare research centres, there are many well-known research institutions (Max-Planck-Institute, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Fraunhofer-Institutes). Science and industry in the state collaborate intensively, thus ensuring a smooth transfer of knowledge and safeguarding the competitiveness of the Baden-Württemberg health care industry as a whole.
For further information, refer to www.studieninfo-bw.de, www.bw-studyguide.de and www.bw-career.de.
Outstanding medical engineering, innovative pharmaceutical companies and modern biotechnology – Baden-Württemberg is one of the top locations of the European healthcare industry. Find more information about the healthcare industry in Baden-Württemberg here.