Medical biotechnology in Germany 2007: Economic situation, benefit and use of biopharmaceuticals

 

Biopharmaceuticals have by now become indispensable for the prevention and treatment of a whole range of diseases. Besides their important medical benefit for patients, they also have significant advantages for society at large: the prevention or reduction of costs incurred from illnesses and a reduced loss of productivity from ability to work on the part of patients.

• Biotechnological vaccines are used to prevent disease (e.g., cervical cancers and pneumococcal infections).
  
• Recombinant enzymes are used for the treatment of rare diseases.
  
• Other recombinant proteins can be used to treat chronic/severe diseases (e.g., cancer, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis).

Despite their medical advantages, biopharmaceuticals are not yet being put to optimal use in Germany. For many chronic illnesses, there is no framework for diagnosis, frequently leading doctors to fear damage claims from insurers and to shrink from the documentation efforts required for the use of innovative therapies. These are some of the reasons why many patients are not treated with biopharmaceuticals and thus do not receive the best possible therapy for their conditions. Germany therefore needs better policies for the development and use of biopharmaceuticals:

• Faster drug development
  
• Funding programs to support the study of rare, currently incurable diseases
  
• Elimination of overregulation for the prescription of innovative drugs
  
• Education for doctors and other healthcare experts in regard to innovative therapies
  
• Clearly defined treatment paths
  
• Cost-benefit analyses based on international standards
  
• "Compassionate-use" programs for access, especially to orphan drugs

Small, medium-sized, and large biotech companies, as well as large pharmaceuticals companies with international biotechnology activities, have contributed to the progress and new opportunities achieved with biopharmaceuticals. In Germany, there are currently 85 biotech and pharmaceuticals companies focused on biotechnology, which either have products on the market and/or their own, innovative product pipelines. Three example numbers illustrate the raising market profile of biopharmaceuticals:

• Sales of biopharmaceuticals in Germany in 2006 rose 12% as relative to the previous year; with sales totalling €3.1 billion, biopharmaceuticals make up 12% of the total pharmaceuticals market in Germany.
  
• 31% of all drugs with new active ingredients approved in Germany in 2006 were biopharmaceuticals.
  
• Over 300 biopharmaceuticals are currently being tested in clinical trials. Treatment of cancer is a major focus.

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