The Idea

German-Israeli Life Sciences Committee

a Joint Initiative of the
 
German-Israeli Economic Association

and the

Israeli-German Chamber
of Industry & Commerce

Israel is one of the most innovative countries in the world with regard to life sciences. Main

areas are medical devices, biotechnology and health-related software. Some Israeli firms are

world-leaders (TEVA, Given Imaging) in specific sub-segments of the life-science industry.

However, most life-science-based companies are SMEs. These SMEs have difficulties in

getting access to markets. The Israeli domestic market is small. The market entry into the US

is expensive and risky due to high regulatory standards. Israeli firms tend to underestimate

growth opportunities in continental Europe. Even though Germany has the third largest

market for medical devices in the world, this market is often not high on the priority list of

Israeli SMEs. The main hurdles are a general lack of information about Germany as a

business location for life science firms and the difficulties in understanding the specifics of

the German health care system. There is a variety of European, Federal, State and local

incentive and support programs available for R&D in Germany for foreign and domestic firms

alike, but the evaluation of these programs is time-consuming and can be discouraging for

Israeli SMEs.

Germany has Europe’s largest life sciences industry and the biggest number of health care

SMEs in the EU. These firms are highly innovative and export a large part of their products to

foreign markets. Many German firms are world-leaders in their field (Fresenius, B. Braun),

but most of the firms are SMEs. The German life science community has not strongly

focused on Israel. There was, for instance, only little German participation in ILSI Biomed

and the number of German life science firms with R&D activities in Israel is comparatively

low. The German life science community seems not to be aware of the advantages of Israel

as a location for R&D. Despite the positive effects of the “German-Israeli-Year of Science

and Technology” in 2008, the number of actual projects is still too low.

Both countries share the possession of a life science industry which is SME-dominated and

highly innovative, flexible and globally acting. Despite these similarities, there is a lack of

awareness on both sides with regard to joint business, cooperation in R&D and bilateral

investment.

 
The German-Israeli Life Sciences Committee´s aim therefore is to further improve bilateral

relations in life sciences in business as well as research between both countries. To achieve

this goal, the Committee supports Israel’s and Germany’s life science community with three

major activities:

1. Creating Awareness of existing incentives, programs and partners: There are many opportunities for bilateral engagement, but most are not widely-known in Israel and Germany alike. Furthermore, examples of success and failure exist. They can serve as case-studies for future engagement and can prevent mistakes. The Committee supports the Israeli and German life science communities to get access to this knowledge.
   
2. Identification of life-science-opportunities and future growth markets and technologies with a particular focus on Israel and Germany. The Committee assesses regularly new trends and tendencies in life sciences and evaluates their specific impact on Israel and Germany. It identifies specific opportunities for bilateral engagement and helps firms in both countries to get joint projects started.
   
3. A Network is provided by the Committee in Israel and Germany to support the life science community in both countries to successfully engage in bilateral projects.