"We are, so to speak, the operators of a fleet," explains Dieter Kramer, General Manager of the Heidelberg branch, with a smile, describing AGC Biologics' business model: "We provide our customers with our facilities, our staff, and our experience to manufacture biologics. These include, for example, proteins and nucleic acids such as DNA, messenger RNA (mRNA), and viral vectors."

AGC does not develop its own products, molecules, or therapies. Instead, the company initially designs production processes for pharmaceutical active ingredients on behalf of a client. In a second step, AGC scales the dimensions of the lab solution to a pilot plant where active ingredients can be produced for clinical trials in kilogram quantities. Finally, it is possible to increase output to the industrial scale of commercial production. Thus, the company's services range from process development, analytical development, quality control, and quality assurance to process validation.

With this offering, AGC plays an important role in the biotechnological innovation system. The service provider cooperates with companies of all sizes, including start-ups, which are usually in an advanced stage of development. "We typically come into play when larger quantities of an active ingredient are needed," explains Dieter Kramer. "A production batch is not exactly cost-effective, so start-ups must already have robust financing." Here, international start-ups – especially from the USA – have a competitive advantage: "In the USA, much more is possible in terms of funding. Biotech start-ups begin with two or three employees, raise a significant amount of capital, and can work with that," reports the biotech expert.

AGC Biologics also started as a start-up, although the term was not yet in common use. In 1983 – a year before the founding of the Technology Park – Reinhold Sommer, a scientific employee of the German Cancer Research Center, initiated the predecessor company Genbiotec along with a few associates, essentially in a garage. His idea was to establish biotechnological production with genetically modified organisms. Over time, the company grew and found its niche in contract development and manufacturing. In 2016, the company, now renamed Biomeva, was acquired by the Japanese Asahi Glass Company. The company's focus then shifted to contract development for broader clinical studies up to commercial application. New production lines and laboratories were installed, a new warehouse was built, and the number of employees grew to 170.

The Heidelberg location is of great importance to the company: "Over time, a cluster of medical research and the development of new therapies has emerged here with the university, the DKFZ, the EMBL, and many smaller and medium-sized institutes," reports Dieter Kramer. Heidelberg is important for a growing biotech company like AGC as a place where innovations can occur, where research results can be translated into products and medicines for the benefit of people.

"We can draw on the full range of talents who have studied here or enjoy living here. In our company, we employ not only biologists, biochemists, and molecular biologists but also pharmacists, logisticians, plant engineers, and process technicians. Additionally, in supportive functions, we have employees from various fields – from law to HR and finance." The high quality of life makes it easier to recruit skilled workers. "After Munich, Heidelberg is the second most popular city in Germany," says the General Manager.

Dieter Kramer himself is a biotechnologist. After his training in Austria, he initially worked for a large corporation in Frankfurt am Main from 2009. Then in 2018, he moved to Heidelberg. "Looking back, that was exactly the right time because that was when the AGC Group took over the company. I then fell in love with both the city and the company," recalls the General Manager. Kramer especially appreciates the cosmopolitan atmosphere of the city and the Heidelberg location: "Many of our employees come from all over the world. We work in a global environment and maintain good international exchange with our other locations in Seattle, Boulder, Longmont, Copenhagen, Milan, and Chiba. In addition, our international customers, for whom we develop and produce, regularly visit us."

For AGC, the established networks on-site, which connect research and industry in the region and beyond, are a significant location advantage. "BioRN and BioDeutschland network Heidelberg, Mannheim, Karlsruhe, and Darmstadt with each other and with other biotechnology centers," reports Dieter Kramer. Some threads come together in the Heidelberg Technology Park. "AGC was one of the first companies to settle in the Technology Park," recalls the General Manager. Over the years, many interesting companies have joined the neighborhood – for example, the biotechnology service provider Celonic, which operates in a similar field to AGC.

Infrastructure and available space are other important factors that speak for Heidelberg. The city is well-connected via highways, rail lines, and Frankfurt Airport. Additionally, AGC has the opportunity to use district heating and cooling supplies with the support of Stadtwerke Heidelberg. It is also not a given for a technology location in Germany that land for expansions is available and that investments are made in transport routes and new buildings, such as the conference center in Heidelberg.

The biotechnology expert hopes that the city and Technology Park will continue on their chosen path: "In the past 15 years, there has been constant development and a willingness to invest in Heidelberg. This opens up very interesting perspectives for us as an international company. We have the opportunity to continue growing, and we can rely on an infrastructure that keeps pace with our development. In the Technology Park, we are able to expand our premises, increase laboratory space, and thus create more capacity." Of course, there are limits to growth in Heidelberg itself – for example, in the Bahnstadt. However, the region offers further opportunities for development.

by Dr. Stefan Burkhardt

Download: Testimonial from Dieter Kramer