The pioneering study reveals a significant gap between European hubs, particularly in Germany, and their U.S. counterparts in transforming academic research into successful biotech ventures. Despite having comparable performance and complementary strengths, German hubs lack effective collaboration, resulting in subpar performance compared to London or Paris. The study’s authors Maximilian Nisslein, consultant (Berlin) at BCG, Benedikt von Bronk, project leader (Düsseldorf) at BCG, Francis de Véricourt, professor and academic director of DEEP and Joachim Faber Chair in Business and Technology at ESMT, and Torsten Kurth, senior partner and managing director (Berlin) at BCG recommend enhancing collaboration among these hubs to improve biotech innovation in Germany and Europe. To combat the direct disadvantages of Germany’s decentralization of innovation hubs, the authors propose fostering cross-hub collaboration, harmonizing innovation approaches across German hubs, and strategically redirecting government funding to more effective stages of the innovation process.



“This white paper is a call to action for German policymakers, scientists, and industry stakeholders to rethink and revitalize the nation’s approach to biotech innovation,” said Francis de Véricourt. “At the DEEP Institute, we are dedicated to fostering a more integrated approach to scientific research and commercial biotech enterprise in order to elevate Germany’s competitiveness in the area.”



Read the full white paper here.



About the DEEP Institute at ESMT Berlin

The Institute for Deep Tech Innovation (DEEP) at ESMT Berlin champions deep-tech innovation by building ecosystems that reshape technology transfer, fostering global scaling of startups. It instills entrepreneurial thinking in science and beyond, developing unique activities across various verticals with partners in science, business, and startups, thus enabling a new generation of deep-tech innovators in Europe.



DEEP is a part of ESMT Berlin, a leading global business school with its campus in the heart of Berlin. Focusing on leadership, innovation, and analytics, its diverse faculty publishes outstanding research in top academic journals. Additionally, the international business school provides an interdisciplinary platform for discourse between politics, business, and academia. esmt.berlin.



About BCG

Boston Consulting Group partners with leaders in business and society to tackle their most important challenges and capture their greatest opportunities. BCG was the pioneer in business strategy when it was founded in 1963. Today, they work closely with clients to embrace a transformational approach aimed at benefiting all stakeholders — empowering organizations to grow, build sustainable competitive advantage, and drive positive societal impact. Their diverse, global teams bring deep industry and functional expertise and a range of perspectives that question the status quo and spark change.



BCG delivers solutions through leading-edge management consulting, technology and design, and corporate and digital ventures. They work in a uniquely collaborative model across the firm and throughout all levels of the client organization, fueled by the goal of helping our clients thrive and enabling them to make the world a better place.