The collaboration was organized through Leaps by Bayer, the Bayer investment branch. Leaps by Bayer advances the latest technologies in life sciences with the goal of fundamentally improving life for many people. 

DEEP will provide Bayer with additional access to innovative biotechnology and healthcare startups, both in Germany and international. The collaboration focuses on supporting innovations that address human health, such as genetic diseases, sustainable organ and tissue replacement, cancer prevention and treatment, combating autoimmune diseases and chronic inflammation, and the use of data-based solutions. 

DEEP and Bayer will also collaborate in the context of the Creative Destruction Lab-Berlin (CDL-Berlin) programs hosted by DEEP at ESMT. In the area of health, CDL-Berlin promotes startups and new ventures that focus on improving the quality, speed, cost, or accessibility of healthcare to prevent, diagnose, or treat disease or improve the operational efficiency of the medical community. The science-based startups benefit from a network of experienced mentors and the broad network of CDL sites. Through Bayer, the founders can also gain access to extensive early-stage funding and the expertise of specialists at Bayer. 

“Together with DEEP, we will work on translating cutting-edge technologies in biotech and healthtech and scaling outstanding startups in these sectors,” says Jürgen Eckhardt, global head of Leaps by Bayer. “The current health stream of CDL-Berlin will serve as a source for identifying outstanding technologies and innovations from around the world.” 

 “With the emphasis on science-based innovation, the outstanding know-how, and the investment power, we have gained a very strong partner that will significantly advance DEEP’s activities as well as those of CDL-Berlin. Together, we are committed to supporting innovations that can achieve what might not seem possible now. We need such projects to address the grand challenges of human health,” says Thorsten Lambertus, site director of CDL-Berlin and managing director of DEEP – Institute for Deep Tech Innovation at ESMT.