Germany ranks third behind Japan and the U.S.A. in the number of PCT applications filed. In 2007, 60,992 applications were filed with the German Patent and Trademark Office (GPTO), an increase of 0.7 per cent over the 60,585 filed in 2006. These include some 2,800 patent applications for class A61 of the IPC, which covers the fields of human medicine, veterinary medicine and hygiene (GPTO 2007 Annual Report). The Berlin-Brandenburg region offers excellent development potential and ideal conditions for the biotechnology industry. Berlin has set international scientific standards ever since the times of such renowned Nobel Prize winners as Emil von Behring, Robert Koch, Max Planck and Albert Einstein. There is tremendous research potential in the region, as exemplified by such "beacons" as the Max Planck, Helmholtz and Fraunhofer Institutes as well as the major universities and universities of applied sciences. 85,000 people are engaged in scientific and research work at five universities, three technical universities of applied sciences and more than 20 research institutes with 350 work teams - a scientific network without parallel in the whole of Europe. Over half of the 170 biotech firms employing over 3,200 people are spin-offs from the universities and research institutes.

The Berlin-Brandenburg metropolitan region in very the heart of Europe is therefore eminently suited as a research location for foreign companies. Research and development projects of their own in the region plus strategic alliances forged with local firms help to accelerate innovation processes and approval procedures. The Berlin-Brandenburg region has developed into a prime location in Europe thanks to its six biotechnology parks and extensive know-how in the fields of basic biological research, biotechnology and biomedicine, where there is a special focus on proteome and genome research, bio-hybrid technologies, regenerative medicine, molecular biology, genetic engineering, biochemistry, RNA technologies, immunology, diagnostics, pharmaceutics, microbiology and bioinformatics.