German Chancellor Impressed by Bayer in Berkeley

Berkeley, April 2010. Bayer in Berkeley recently welcomed a special guest: German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel spent an hour during her U.S. visit getting first-hand information from Bayer about the benefits the biotechnology cluster in Berkeley, California, has to offer and the complex biotechnological development and production of the hemophilia treatment Kogenate.

Presentation of High-tech Facility
She was accompanied by a high-ranking political delegation, including German government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm and the German ambassador to the United States, Klaus Scharioth, along with nearly 40 German journalists. Bayer Board of Management member Dr. Wolfgang Plischke, North America SBR Greg Babe and Jörg Heidrich, Senior Vice President of Product Supply-Biotechnology, BHC, greeted the Chancellor and her delegation and provided an overview of the political, scientific and economic framework at the high-tech facility in Berkeley.

After a round of discussions, Merkel also took a tour of the highly modern packaging lines at the Kogenate production facility. This Bayer product generated roughly EUR 900 million in sales in 2009. The facility's more than 1,300 employees from 47 different countries manufacture just 500 grams of the pure active ingredient per year using a highly elaborate biotechnological process that lasts nine months. The product helps patients who suffer from hemophilia A, a genetic disorder characterized by the total or partial absence of coagulation factor VIII in the blood.

Chancellor Merkel and her delegation seemed very impressed by the high-tech manufacturing process at Bayer's Berkeley facility – and the Bayer employees were excited by the presence of these distinguished visitors. "In Berkeley we were able to demonstrate to the Chancellor that pioneering research is essential for developing innovative drugs and treatment options and successfully bringing them to market. "A conducive environment plays a decisive role in this process," said Plischke.

The U.S. government has been supporting biotechnology in the Bay Area since the 70s by providing tax incentives for research and development expenditures. There are also more than 25 leading biopharmaceutical academic institutes offering excellent opportunities for research alliances. This also means access to highly qualified experts. There are currently over 3,800 life science companies located in and around Berkeley, of which 1,400 are biotech companies. These businesses employ more than 120,000 people. To date, this cluster of excellence has given rise to more than 1,700 therapies and treatment methods, and over 1,000 development candidates are currently in phase one or two of clinical trials.