ABSTRACT
In the early 1980s three ‘Gene Centres’ were set up in West Berlin, Heidelberg and Munich. These centres represent an early attempt to enrol industrial corporations for biotechnological research investment. Investment in early stages of innovation requires more than ‘financial’ interests and approaches of valuation. Industrial corporations had begun engaging with biotechnology–by building subsidiaries or investing in start-ups in the United States. During the BioRegio competition of 1994, the founder participated in developing the Munich biotech cluster strategy, which won the competition and brought substantial funds to the city. Substantial funds, which were gained in the competition, were co-funded by the industrial sector to create a seed fund for biotechnology companies. The strong presence of biomedical research, biotechnology companies and pharmaceutical industry in the Martinsried cluster geared the technology towards applications in the biopharmaceutical sector, although other applications would have been possible.
