bioRN Life Science Cluster
BioRN is the science and industry innovation cluster in the Rhine-Neckar region around Heidelberg, one of Germany’s strongest biotech and life science hubs. It is a non-profit network fostering health innovations and serving its members by creating a rich translational ecosystem as well as promoting, representing and connecting the regional innovation stakeholders.
create innovation …
… foster translation!
The bioRN Life Science Cluster establishes initiatives to bridge the regional innovation stakeholders and to nurture and extend connections between members. It also fosters connections to other regions of innovation worldwide and stands for the promotion and visibility of the life science region at the national and international level.
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We act as a neutral player, supporting cross-organizational programs and initiatives that advance the life science region as a whole. At the interface between academia and industry, bioRN provides translation support, especially by leveraging the unique combination of global pharma and leading academic institutions in the region.
Our Core Values
We are a community
We foster partnerships and collaborative efforts, to meet the individual needs in our cluster community.
We are respectful
We live the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion in our work, our projects and within our network.
We have integrity
Integrity is the core for our cluster work – as trusted and professional partners we take confidentiality very seriously.
We are driven
We combine passion, excellence and commitment to bring our projects to perfection.
We act economically
We use our resources responsibly.
We are a team and have a common vision
Together we have the strength to make a difference and develop the Rhine-Neckar region into a world-leading life science cluster.
We love innovation
We embrace and support scientific and technological innovation; they are the drivers of our work.
bioRN Team
Dr. Nicole Hecht
Communication and Events
Associate Managing Director
Projects
Explore the achievements of the bioRN team in the current projects:
EIT Health Catapult
bioRN leads this European unique competition & training programme that every year showcases 30 life sciences & healthtech Startups to leading experts and investors across Europe. The best business concepts get awarded cash & in-kind prizes from leading health corporates.
PRECISEU
BioRN was instrumental in initiating and securing funding for PRECISEU, a major European project dedicated to advancing personalized medicine through health data and ATMPs. Leveraging the region’s strong foundation in healthcare innovation and its high concentration of academic and industry excellence, bioRN will serve as Innovation Lead, further strengthening the region’s international standing in the healthcare sector.
Think Tank Data Exchange
This Think Tank aims to raise awareness, foster collaborations, and develop clear guidelines for the efficient exchange of clinical data and research results between academia and industry, enhancing both patient care and research outcomes in the biotech cluster. Interested? Please contact Friedemann Loos fl@biorn.org
Think Tank HR in Life Science
This Think Tank will bring together HR managers to exchange ideas, share experiences, and collaboratively develop creative solutions for overcoming talent shortages, all in an informal breakfast setting. Interested? Please contact Stephanie Füller sf@biorn.org
Think Tank Investment
Together we will find out how to attract more investors for this region
Lighthouse Stories
BeLAB21/22 BRIDGE
Mediated and supported by bioRN, Evotec established in 2021 the beLAB2122 BRIDGE. With 20M Euro Fund for preclinical development of academic drug discovery projects, beLAB2122 is a new public-private partnership between the leading academic institutions of the Rhine-Neckar region, Evotec and Bristol Myers Squibb to identify, fund and execute novel disease modifying therapeutic projects with the goal to develop these to new spinout companies.
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Biolabs Heidelberg
BioRN is the initiator of Biolabs Heidelberg. BioLabs is a fully equipped incubator which provides on demand wet laboratories and office spaces to early-stage life science startups with direct access to a network of industry parters and investors.
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Board & Honorary
Dr. Gitte Neubauer (Chair)
Founder & CEO of Cellzome GmbH – a GSK company, Heidelberg
Prof. Dr. Michael Boutros (Deputy Chair)
Head of Functional and Structural Genomics Program at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg; Dean of Medical Faculty Heidelberg, University Heidelberg
Prof. Dr. Michelangelo Canzoneri
Global Head of Group Smart Manufacturing at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt
Prof. Dr. Adelheid Cerwenka
Professor and Chair of Immunobiochemistry; Vice Dean of Research, Mannheim Institute for Innate Immunoscience (MI3), Heidelberg University, Medical Faculty Mannheim
Dr. Anamarija Curic
Founder & CEO of nuvalore GmbH, Heidelberg
Prof. Dr. Jochen Maas
Vice-President of the House of Pharma & Healthcare Professor at the Technical University of Central Hesse Retired as General Manager, Research & Development (R&D) at Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH
Marc Massoth
Head of Office of Economic Development and Science, City of Heidelberg
Prof. Dr. Patrick Most
Professor & Head of Molecular and Translational Cardiology, Heidelberg University Hospital; Founder and CEO of AaviGen GmbH
Prof. Dr. Nina Papavasiliou
Professor at University Heidelberg, Division Head at DKFZ, Co-Founder & CEO of Panosome GmbH
Dr. Volker Stadler
CEO of PEPperPRINT GmbH, Heidelberg
Dr. Angelika Vlachou
Partner, High-Tech Gründerfonds Management GmbH (HTGF), Bonn
The strategic board is an advisory body, endoursed with the task of advising the executive board particularly on strategic issues or reviewing executive board decisions.
Dr. Chistian Tidona (Chair)
Managing Director BioMed X GmbH, Heidelberg
Dr. Jürgen Bauer
Deputy Managing Director EMBLEM Technology Transfer GmbH, Heidelberg
Katja Betts
CEO PROGEN Biotechnik GmbH Heidelberg
Dr. Ludger Bodenbach
Head of Manufacturing Technologies, Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Mannheim
Dr. Sophia Deil
CEO ScienceValue Heidelberg GmbH
Katharina Fox
Medical Technology Cluster Management, Mannheim
Dr. Jürgen Gamer
TET Systems GmbH
Dr. Jan Gradel
City of Heidelberg, Heidelberg
Dr. Thomas Hanke
Evotec International GmbH, EVP, Head of Academic Partnerships, Hamburg
Prof. Dr. Carsten Hopf
Head of Institute for Instrumental Analytics and Bioanalytics Mannheim University of Applied Sciences
Andreas Kempff
Managing Director, Department of Industry, Innovation and Enterprise Promotion, Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) Rhine-Neckar, Heidelberg
Dr. Claus Kremoser
Co-Founder & CEO of WMT AG
Dr. Bernd Nosse
Global Head BD&L Technologies and Research Beyond Boarders, Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, Ingelheim
Prof. Dr. Katja Patzel-Mattern
Vice President for Innovation and Transfer, Professor of Economic and Social History, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg
Dr. Martin Raditsch
General Partner CARMA FUND Management GmbH
Dr. Kirstin Schilling
CEO INNOVECTIS GmbH, Frankfurt am Main
Dr. Oliver Schlüter
CEO/CFO Novaliq GmbH, Heidelberg
Dr. Joachim Vogt
Director Search & Evaluation Western Europe at AbbVie
Dr. Rainer Wessel
Director Innovation Management, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg
The Scientific Advisory Board is an advisory body entrusted with the task of advising the executive board particularly in the selection and evaluation of project ideas and projects.
Prof. Dr. Mathias Hafner (Chair)
Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer at Mannheim University of Applied Sciences
Ralf Angermund M.D. Ph.D
Early Innovation Partnering Director Deutschland, Janssen-Cilag GmbH (Johnson & Johnson)
Dr. Christoph Antz
CEO, VERAXA Biotech GmbH, Heidelberg
Prof. Dr. Bernd Bukau
Director of Zentrum für Molekulare Biologie Heidelberg (ZMBH)
Dr. Daniel Forler
Senior Director BD&L, New Platforms /OPH/HEM, Bayer AG, Berlin
Prof. Dr. Sonja Loges
Director, W3 Professor, Department of Personalized Oncology, Director, Division of Personalized Medical Oncology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg
Prof. Dr. Michael Platten
Chairman Department of Neurology, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University; Head of Brain Tumor Immunology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg; Founder and Managing Director Tcelltech, Mannheim
Dr. Friedrich Rippmann
ex-Merck KGaA, Darmstadt
Prof. Dr. Andreas Trumpp
Managing Director of HI-STEM, Professor and Head of the Division of Stem Cell and Cancer at the DKFZ Heidelberg
Prof. Dr. Magnus von Knebel Doeberitz
Medical Director, Department Head at University Hospital Heidelberg
Dr. Birgit Zech
CEO Anavo Therapeutics B.V., Leiden