The healthcare industry accounts for 10 percent of NRW's economic output. It is one of the most important sectors in Düsseldorf - with enormous innovative power. A key success factor is the excellent networking of the relevant players.

If the healthcare industry in NRW were a human body, the Düsseldorf area could be described as the heart region. Around 95,500 people are employed in this sector in the state capital and the district of Mettmann (as of 30 June 2023; source: statistics of the Federal Employment Agency; own calculation of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce) - that's one in seven employees! In addition to the traditional “first healthcare market”, which includes hospitals and pharmacies, a privately financed “second healthcare market” has been growing for several years, primarily with providers from the wellness and health tourism sectors. An exciting mix of established companies, innovative startups, the Heinrich Heine University and the University Hospital, numerous research institutions, associations and municipal players form the breeding ground for this sales and employment driver. For example, the DITEC Life Science Centre, the Krankenhausgesellschaft NRW, the Leibniz Institute for Environmental Medical Research IUF and the German Diabetes Centre DDZ (Leibniz Centre for Diabetes Research) are all based here. The local associations BIO. NRW and BioRiver are committed to the dynamically growing biotechnology sector. This ecosystem is enriched by numerous specialist events, most notably the leading international trade fair MEDICA (see box). 06 07 HEALTHCARE INDUSTRIES HEALTHCARE INDUSTRIES

Dr. Bettina Möckel, Chairwoman of the BioRiver association

QIAGEN is one company that has thrived in these local conditions. Founded in the mid-1980s as a spin-off from Heinrich Heine University, the listed company is now a world leader in life sciences and molecular diagnostics. Its global headquarters are in Venlo, while its European operations are based in Hilden. As Vice President Corporate Business Development, Dr Bettina Möckel is responsible for innovation and investment opportunities. “Germany used to be known as the 'pharmacy of the world'. We are still among the world leaders, but innovation in this field is now taking place globally, especially in the US,” she explains.

“I have been in this business for many years and I am always fascinated by the technological innovations that are developed every year. A lot has happened in the last ten years, especially in infectious disease diagnostics, which has been boosted by the coronavirus pandemic, and in cancer diagnostics. For example, most people in this country now know what a PCR test is. This development is continuing unabated and is opening up many new possibilities for detecting and curing diseases," says the innovation expert. Artificial intelligence is already playing an important role in this and will continue to do so, for example in drug development.

„At the same time, it is important to create more incentives for investors to invest risk capital in this area.“

TREMENDOUS TRADE FAIR POWER

Medica
• with more than 5,300 exhibitors from almost 70 nations and 83,000 visitors, one of the world's largest B2B medical trade fairs
• next date: 11 to 14 November 2024
WWW.MEDICA.DE

Compamed
• leading international trade fair for the medical technology supply industry
• next date: 11 to 14 November 2024
WWW.COMPAMED.DE

RehaCare
• leading trade fair for rehabilitation, prevention, integration and care
• more than 850 exhibitors from 40 countries at the last event held from 25 to 28 September 2024
WWW.REHACARE.DE

A+A
• the world's largest and most important occupational safety and health event
• next date: 4 to 7 November 2025
WWW.APLUSA.DE

A particularly impressive example of the medical applications of AI is the Digital Health Lab at Düsseldorf University Hospital. Here, AI is helping to speed up the analysis of medical images in radiology, for example. But AI is not the only megatrend in digital medicine. “Another is telemedicine, which has developed very dynamically in recent years. Thanks to sensor technology, smartphones and the like, there are now completely new possibilities for remote diagnosis and treatment. This ranges from teleconsultations in hospitals, which make the expertise of specialist centres available to a wider area, to telemedical specialist care, such as that offered by the Düsseldorf startup company Dermanostic,” explains Dr. Patrick Guidato, Cluster Manager of the competence platform Cluster Medizin. NRW on behalf of the NRW Science Ministry. Guidato and his team network the various players in innovative medicine, provide information on trends and funding opportunities, including for startups, and advise on finding cooperation partners, for example. “I also see great potential in digital health applications. There are apps for therapy support, for example for chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma or cancer, but increasingly also for mental health support - an important addition given the shortage of therapy places in this country,” says Guidato. Another major trend is biohybrid medicine. It is used, for example, in implants to make them grow better, in implantable sensors to transmit nerve impulses or in nanogels for optimised wound care. In order to promote all these trends, the Medizin. NRW cluster has developed “lighthouses” as central networking and organisational platforms. In addition to digital and biohybrid medicine, these lighthouses are currently focusing on gender medicine, the effects of climate change on health, clinical research and geriatric medicine.

THE IDEA: MEDICAL SCIENCE CITY

Founded in 2003, the BioRiver association of the life sciences and biotechnology industry now has more than 120 members. These include companies of various sizes, universities and research institutions, local authorities, business development organisations, chambers of commerce and industry and investors. Key objectives include networking between these stakeholders and promoting young talent, in particular through the BioRiver Boost! startup competition.

One particularly exciting project for the future is “Medical Science City”, a modern biomedical incubator where companies will develop therapies for tomorrow's medicine. The idea is to convert an old factory building into modern office and laboratory space, as well as production facilities for clinical trials. Biomedical startups could develop new cell and gene therapies, for example against cancer, and benefit from the proximity of startups, SMEs and pharmaceutical companies. "We would be delighted if this concept were to be implemented, thus creating a showcase project for the life sciences and biotechnology with significance beyond the borders of North Rhine-Westphalia," says Dr Bettina Möckel, chairwoman of the association.

Dr Patrick Guidato, Cluster Manager, Cluster Medizin.NRW

This does not necessarily mean reinventing the wheel, as there is often potential for optimisation within the existing framework, as Dr Patrick Guidato knows from his many years of consulting experience. “One example is clinical trials, which are a critical step in bringing medical products to market. As a cluster, we analysed how these complex contractual processes could be accelerated. Among other things, we identified a rather banal sticking point: in many places in this process, contracts are still signed by hand! If digital signatures were used everywhere, valuable time could be saved,” he explains. In order to be able to switch to digital processes in a legally compliant manner, the University Medical Cluster provides a legal opinion on the use of digital signature tools.
With regard to Düsseldorf as a central healthcare location, Guidato sees two important advantages over other locations in Germany: “Düsseldorf has a super international network, especially in Asia. This is also reflected in the local collaborations and companies. And, of course, Düsseldorf, in the heart of North Rhine-Westphalia, has a very good infrastructural starting position for the further development of the healthcare industry.” •

ABOUT DITEC LIFE SCIENCE CENTER
The Düsseldorf Innovation and Technology Centre (DITEC) Life Science Centre in the Bilk district offers innovative companies and startups around 21,000 sqm of office and laboratory space up to security standard S2. Associations and organisations such as BioRiver and the MEDIZIN.NRW cluster are also based here. In addition to the life sciences (biotechnology, bioinformatics, biomedicine and medical technology), the centre also focuses on related fields of technology such as materials technology and nanotechnology. The DITEC Life Science Centre also offers an intensive startup service and is a regular venue for numerous event formats.

Words: Tom Corrinth
Pictures: Andreas Fechner, Medizin.NRW

AT THE HEART OF THE HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY