The cluster management organizations BioM, Munich, Germany, and Osaka Bio Headquarters, Osaka, Japan, officially announced the renewal of their long-standing Transnational Biotech & Life Sciences Cooperation Partnership Agreement at the EU-Japan Biotech & Pharma Partnering Conference 2022 in Osaka.
Considering the numerous deals and long-term partnerships between Bavarian biotech companies and Japanese pharmaceutical companies, it reveals that Japan is almost as attractive for the regional sector as the pharmaceutical industry in the USA. Building up on this mutual interest, the Munich-Osaka Partnership Agreement combines Osaka’s large accumulation of pharmaceutical companies and renowned scientific expertise with the innovative biopharma technologies from start-ups and SMEs in Bavaria. The Agreement sets concrete actions with the aim to accelerate business in both regions, to inform each other about the newest developments in technologies, industry and academia, and to support business matchmaking and trade missions between Osaka and Munich.
The long-standing, trustful relationship between the two world-class biopharma regions was first formalized in a Partnership Agreement in 2011. BioM has since taken eight trade missions to Japan, with 93 SME participations. As a major result of the cooperation, the concept for an EU-Japan Biotech & Pharma Partnering Conference was developed in a joint effort to accelerate global biopharmaceutical developments. The conference, where the Partnership was renewed today, is now established as an important partnering event, organized by Osaka Prefectural Government, EU-Japan Centre, and Enterprise Europe Network.
The 3rd renewal of the Partnership agreement is signed by Prof. Dr. Horst Domdey, CEO of BioM Biotech Cluster Development GmbH, and Dr. Shizuko Akira, President of Osaka Bio Headquarters. Horst Domdey states that “we are delighted to continue our good partnership with Osaka as a central player of the Kansai area, which gives both regions easier access to business and research collaborations.” Shizuko Akira emphasizes the importance of a long-term relationship in international business and adds that “it is a great pleasure to maintain a strategic partnership since 2011 with BioM”.