Known colloquially as the “pharmacy to the world” thanks to its long history of research and development initiatives in the life sciences, Germany is the world’s largest exporter of pharmaceutical products. Top-tier manufacturing facilities, a rich pool of highly skilled talent and a cultural focus on R&D within business have driven historically steady growth in the pharma sector.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the German pharmaceutical company BioNTech famously developed the original Covid-19 vaccine, which went on to be developed for global distribution by Pfizer. Germany’s other heavy hitter is Bayer AG, which has generated revenue of nearly $55 billion USD. These and similar multinational firms join over-the-counter drug manufacturers to round out offerings in the national pharma market. Read on to track the trends in the German pharmaceutical sector.
Germany’s Pharmaceutical Companies
- Boehringer Ingelheim
- Bayer
- Fresenius Kabi
- BioNTech
- Regeneron
- Schrödinger, Inc.
- Evotec
Top Pharmaceutical Companies in Germany
Founded in 1885 and headquartered in Germany, Boehringer Ingelheim is the world’s largest private pharmaceutical company in the world. The pharma giant has around more than 47,000 employees around the world, who help it to produce some of the most common over-the-counter medicines and prescription therapies for chronic illness.
Bayer is a multinational enterprise pharmaceutical and biotechnology company. It was the first company to introduce acetylsalicylic acid, which we now know as Aspirin, as a trademarked product. The company operates across medical and agricultural sectors, and markets many well-known medications, including the Cipro brand of ciprofloxacin antibiotic and the Yaz brand of low-dose hormonal birth control pills.
Immatics is a clinical-stage research organization in the pharmaceutical space. Its work targets the development of T-cell receptors for immunotherapy drugs in oncology applications. These therapeutic vaccines are designed to target cancers that represent high unmet medical needs, providing a potential lifeline to specific patient populations.
Biomedical company STRATEC SE creates analyzer systems for medical diagnostics, with a specialty in in-vitro diagnostics. These systems are built to assess chemistry, hematology, immunoassays, coagulation and various other metrics that contain diagnostic implications. They pair specialty laboratory instruments with substance analysis that assesses the concentration of the metric in question.
Eucalyptus, known to its team members as “Euc,” is a digital healthcare company that provides telehealth services, including pharmaceutical management of chronic conditions. Its treatment model focuses on internal medicine, preventative care and metabolic health, which it offers to patients in Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia and Japan.
BioNTech is a biotechnology research and development company that specializes in immunotherapies, vaccines and other preventative and therapeutic treatments for disease. It works primarily with mRNA and immunomodulatory technologies to produce targeted therapies. During the Covid-19 pandemic, BioNTech worked with Pfizer to bring the first Covid-19 vaccination to market.
Aspen Pharma Group is a specialty drug company that offers manufacturing for commercial pharmaceuticals. The company produces both prescription drugs and over-the-counter remedies, and has manufacturing capacity for sterile compounds, oral solid dose medications, liquids, semi-solids and biologicals. Aspen’s major products include the Combivir, Epivir and Retrovir antiretrovirals, which are used to treat AIDS.
Life sciences software company Schrödinger, Inc. offers computational tools that scientists use during the drug discovery research and development process. By bringing physics and molecular science together with machine learning and informatics, the software helps scientists predict the molecular properties of drugs in development.
Cochlear is a medical device manufacturer that specializes in cochlear implants for hearing restoration. It designs both the electronic implants themselves and the externally worn sound processors that allow them to function for the wearer. Cochlear’s Nucleus 7 sound processor is equipped with a trademarked coil and cable that is about 25 percent smaller and lighter than industry standard, while reporting to offer 50 percent additional battery life than typical models.
Fresenius Kabi is a biopharmaceutical company that specializes in injectable drugs for use in anesthetics, oncology, anti-infection and critical care contexts. It also offers a portfolio of products for clinical nutrition, such as enteral and parenteral nutrition products that nourish patients who cannot consume food by mouth.
Gerresheimer is a packaging specialist company in the pharmaceutical industry. Using glass and injection-molded plastic, it designs custom drug delivery devices and packaging systems for medications. Gerresheimer’s inhalers, infusion systems, auto injectors for home use and needle-free injection systems are purpose built to the rigorous standards of the international pharma sector.
EMBL is an intergovernmental life sciences organization that brings top-tier researchers and clinicians together to work on pharmaceutical applications for molecular biology. The organization, which was found in 1974, has teams working on exciting niches of biology, such as planetary biology, human ecosystems, epigenetics and neurobiology.
Avi Medical is a healthcare group that offers primary care and family medicine services through a digital-first model. The company offers fully remote telehealth services as well as in-person providers. Avi’s clinical practices are driven by diagnostic data that supports clinical assessments. One of its offerings is Avi Impact, a digital support program for cardiovascular patients that includes tracking and scheduling for prescription medications.
Odyssey Therapeutics is a drug development company that works on immunomodulators and oncological therapeutic drugs. In collaboration with Johnson & Johnson, the company uses AI to identify novel small molecules within the drug discovery process. Its team of “drug hunters” pairs computational chemistry with AI to target intractable medical problems.
Regeneron is a pharma and biotech company that develops drug therapies for chronic conditions and diseases. The company proudly invents and develops its products entirely in-house and owns eight European Medicines Agency authorized drugs. The Regeneron clinical pipeline works on cell medicines, genetic medicines and biologics for neurological, ophthalmological, oncological and hematological applications, as well as for rare and infectious diseases and metabolic health.
Pharmaceutical provider Redcare Pharmacy operates a network of instant-delivery digital pharmacies that bring prescription drugs to patients’ homes. The company, which was founded as a brick-and-mortar local business two decades ago, guarantees delivery in 30 minutes or less once a patient redeems their e-prescription, which can be handled through the Redcare mobile app.
Eppendorf is a manufacturer of purpose-built equipment for life sciences laboratories and pharmaceutical R&D sites. It is known in particular for its centrifuge machines, which are used to separate fluids and gasses from each other for cell collection, protein purification and other research processes. The company also offers strategic advisement for lab setups and pipetting systems.
Bioscript Group is a medical communications agency. It works with pharmaceutical and biotech companies as well as medical device manufacturers to cohere their industry-facing messaging and package their data and insights for delivery to potential stakeholders and thought partners. Bioscript focuses on immunology, oncology and rare or complex diseases and works to connect scientists with the specialists and technologists that can help them bring products to market.
Atai Life Sciences researches and develops therapeutic treatments at the clinical stage for mental health disorders, including depression, anxiety and substance use disorder. The company is currently at work on applications for the psychedelics psilocybin and psilocin within the treatment of major depressive disorder and treatment resistant depression.
Pharma research company Evotec is a drug discovery and development specialist. It partners with biotech and pharmaceutical businesses that need laboratory and clinical facilities, materials and strategic collaboration as they work to develop and market new drugs. Evotec co-owns drug pipelines in numerous therapeutic areas, including anti-infectives, cardiovascular disease, neuroscience and pain management.
