Special Topic | Building momentum in advanced and personalized medicine
A strong ecosystem for pharmaceutical innovation
Drug development has deep roots in the Berlin Brandenburg region. Global players such as Bayer, Berlin-Chemie (Menarini), Pfizer, Sanofi and Takeda, along with 30 pharmaceutical companies, are based in Berlin Brandenburg, with around 13,000 employees in total. This industrial base is supported by a dense research landscape, which is at the same time increasingly engaged in precision medicine approaches: Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), Max Delbrück Center (MDC), and Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB).
This article is part of the Life Sciences Report Berlin Brandenburg 2026/2027. The full report can be found HERE.
The region benefits from close ties between hospitals, research institutes, biotech companies, and translational centers, and thus is creating an ecosystem designed to move advanced therapies more efficiently from the lab into clinical practice. This emphasis on translation is increasingly important as personalized therapies require highly specialized manufacturing, regulatory expertise, and close collaboration between academia, clinics and industry.
Precision medicine, by contrast, builds on molecular profiling, data integration, and biomarker-driven patient stratification. This shifts the unit of analysis from disease category to individual molecular phenotype. Tumor profiling for actionable mutations is now routine in many oncology settings. Proteomic and metabolomic signatures are being explored as early-risk biomarkers in cardiovascular medicine. Multi-omics approaches are helping resolve rare and undiagnosed diseases where classical diagnostics fall short.
The region benefits from close ties between hospitals, research institutes, biotech companies, and translational centers, and thus is creating an ecosystem designed to move advanced therapies more efficiently from the lab into clinical practice. This emphasis on translation is increasingly important as personalized therapies require highly specialized manufacturing, regulatory expertise, and close collaboration between academia, clinics and industry.
Spatial omics as a core technology
Spatial omics has become one of the key technologies for precision medicine because it adds tissue context to molecular data. By linking omics data to cellular architecture, it supports biomarker discovery, stratification, and target validation in disease settings where spatial organization matters as much as the molecular signature itself, for example, in cancer and inflammatory diseases. Clinical use is still limited, but the field has moved beyond proof of principle and into translational development.
In Berlin, several groups are helping drive the field forward. Oliver Klein and the BIH Imaging Mass Spectrometry Unit at Charité are advancing imaging mass spectrometry, enabling the mapping of proteins, metabolites, and other molecular features directly in tissue sections. Building on this work, the Spatial Diagnostics Platform at the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) at Charité is bringing together genomics, proteomics, and spatial tissue analysis in an automated, AI-supported workflow to make complex molecular information more accessible for clinical decision-making.
On the single-cell and spatial biology side, Nikolaus Rajewsky's lab at MDC-BIMSB has pioneered high-resolution spatial transcriptomics technologies, including the Open-ST platform for spatially resolved gene-expression analysis. Complementing these efforts, the MDC-Bruker Center of Excellence for Single Cell Omics focuses on developing and applying mass-spectrometry-based single-cell and multi-omics workflows.
Excellent infrastructure for translational medicine
Berlin Brandenburg combines internationally recognized biomedical research with extensive clinical expertise. Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin is home to one of Europe’s largest stem cell transplantation centers and has established CAR-T cell therapies in clinical care. The Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH) plays a central role in translating biomedical discoveries into personalized diagnostics and therapies and helped develop Germany’s National Strategy for Gene and Cell-Based Therapies.
Regenerative medicine is another important pillar of the region’s advanced therapy landscape. At the BIH Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), interdisciplinary teams of clinical scientists, engineers and biologists are developing cell- and biomaterial-based therapies and diagnostic tools that harness the body’s own healing processes. The Julius Wolff Institute, also part of Charité’s regenerative-therapy cluster, adds expertise in musculoskeletal regeneration using mechano-therapeutic and immune-therapeutic approaches. The Berlin Center for Advanced Therapies (BeCAT), officially opened in 2026, strengthens Berlin’s academic infrastructure for bringing Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs) into clinical application. With CLIC at BIH, an academic incubator structure supports teams to mature from pre-seed to seed stage.
The Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) contributes important expertise in genome editing, single-cell technologies, and cell-based medicine. In 2025, the Helmholtz Association committed €30.8 million to the Center for AI-Accelerated Molecular Innovations in Medicine at the MDC, supporting the integration of artificial intelligence into biomedical research and precision medicine.
A major milestone in gene and cell therapy
From research to clinical application
Moving precision medicine from the lab to the patient requires more than data. It requires computational tools to interpret that data, and disease models that reflect human biology closely enough to be predictive.
On the computational side, BIH/Charité, the Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB), and the MDC have built strong capacity in computational and systems biology, integrating high-throughput molecular data with mathematical modeling and bioinformatics to generate quantitative, testable models of disease.
The MDC-BIMSB is now also home to the Einstein Center for Early Disease Interception (EC-EDI), which brings together researchers from twelve Berlin institutions to apply single-cell multi-omics technologies, AI modeling, and patient-specific organoids to the study of disease in its earliest stages. Initial focus areas include respiratory and neurological diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, and multiple sclerosis. The region has also built a coordinated infrastructure for human-based, animal-free research. Charité 3R funds internal research projects focused on replacing, reducing, and refining animal use. The Einstein Center 3R, a multi-institutional initiative founded in 2021, receives funding from the Einstein Foundation to develop 3D human tissue models as alternatives to animal experiments, covering six organ systems.
Si-M is a visible example of this direction. Opened on April 22, 2026, Der Simulierte Mensch is the first research facility in Germany specifically designed for the simulation of human organ function without animal testing. Around 150 researchers from TU Berlin and Charité work together, combining organ-on-chip systems, 3D cell cultures, bioprinting, and advanced imaging to model human physiology from the molecular to the tissue level.
One of the region’s most ambitious projects is the Berlin Center for Gene and Cell Therapies (BC GCT), a joint initiative by Bayer, Charité and BIH located adjacent to Bayer’s Berlin campus. Backed by public investments exceeding €100 million, the center will combine laboratory infrastructure for start-up incubation and scale up, GMP-compliant manufacturing capacity, and space for 15 to 20 biotech start-ups under one roof. It will be housed in Riverside Labs, a new, highly specialized research and production facility for the life sciences sector currently under development in the heart of the Health Innovation Quarter Berlin-Mitte. Ground was broken in early June, and operations are expected to begin in 2028.
The growing network is already attracting biotech companies working on new therapeutic approaches. MyoPax is developing regenerative cell and gene therapies to treat muscle defects and diseases, while EpiBlok Therapeutics is advancing a gene therapy approach for epilepsy. BlueRock Therapeutics, a Bayer subsidiary, has established its first European cell therapy innovation site in Berlin and is advancing clinical programs in Parkinson’s disease.
Expanding networks and market access
Berlin is also involved in several national and European initiatives aimed at improving collaboration in the field. The EU-funded JOIN4ATMP consortium, coordinated by Charité, aims to improve market access and reimbursement pathways for ATMPs across Europe. At the national level, the National Network Office for Gene and Cell-Based Therapies, based at the BIH, supports collaboration, training, and entrepreneurship programs designed to strengthen Germany’s growing gene- and cell therapy community.
Enabling technologies
Precision medicine depends on enabling technologies that measure disease earlier and with greater precision. Among them are highly sensitive sensor platforms, liquid biopsy for minimally invasive molecular profiling, as well as AI and machine learning tools that help interpret complex omics datasets in clinical context.
At MDC, the Center for AI-Accelerated Molecular Innovations in Medicine (AI2M) is set to strengthen Berlin's precision-medicine ecosystem. Backed by substantial funding from the Helmholtz Association, it will operate from two hubs: the Spatial and Single-cell Biomedicine and AI hub at MDC-BIMSB in Mitte and the Human Cell Model and Bioengineering hub in Buch. The center is designed to develop AI models for large molecular and clinical datasets and to support precision treatment and prevention. Construction begins in 2026.
The region also has a strong base in innovative sensors, including ultrasensitive immunoassays, electrochemical biosensors, lab-on-chip and microfluidic systems, and mass spectrometry-based platforms.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Georg N. Duda:
"Combined with advanced diagnostics, truly personalized therapies are becoming a reality. Berlin has built a unique ecosystem to address unmet medical needs through advanced therapies by integrating precise phenotyping, innovative bioengineering, and deep mechanistic understanding. BeCAT’s new GMP manufacturing facility further de-risks advanced therapies, while BIH’s CLIC incubator supports academic projects from pre-seed to seed stage. Through BC GCT, we aim to advance company creation and commercialization even further, translating strong basic science and breakthrough technologies into scalable patient treatments. Here, teams receive the support needed to grow from early-stage ventures to broader clinical impact."
Dr. Oliver Klein (BIH)
1. What is the Spatial Diagnostics Platform, and why was it created?
The Spatial Diagnostics Platform (SDP) at the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) at Charité is designed to make complex information from patient tissue samples more useful for clinical decisions – faster, more comprehensively, and more precisely. At its core is the spatial analysis of genes, proteins, and cells, with the goal of developing automated, AI-supported, and scalable diagnostics. Together with industry partners, including Roche Diagnostics, Zeiss Industrial Quality & Research (IQR), Bruker Daltonics, and Hamilton Germany, we are combining research, clinical practice, and technology development. LIMAA Technologies complements this effort with technologies for tissue-preserving analysis and for later transfer into clinical use.
2. Why is it important for diagnostics to consider molecular information in the spatial context of tissue?
Because we need to know not only which molecules are present, but also where they are located in the tissue and how they interact. Spatial multi-omics combines genomics, proteomics, and spatial tissue information, enabling a much more comprehensive picture of disease. Working with our industry partners, these different technologies can be integrated into a single, automated workflow. In the longer term, we aim to translate molecular information more quickly into actionable treatment decisions.
3. What makes Berlin a suitable location for the SDP?
Berlin brings together excellent research, clinical care, technology development, start-ups, and industry in a comparatively small area. With BIH and Charité, along with our technology and industry partners, we have gathered the key actors in one place. As a result, rather than developing new technologies in isolation, we can directly link them to clinical questions and later industrial implementation.
Felix Lorenz:
"With our recent financing round completed and our next-generation TCR-T cell therapy lead program on the verge of entering the clinic, Captain T Cell is moving into an exciting new phase. Our ambition is to develop transformative new therapies for patients with advanced solid tumors who urgently need novel treatment options."
| Organization | Focus Area |
|---|---|
| Charité / BIH | Translational research, clinical application, and development of the National Strategy for GCT |
| Julius Wolff Institute (JWI) | Biomechanics, orthopedics, and engineering regenerative therapies |
| Max Delbrück Center | Molecular medicine, single-cell analyses, and genome editing |
| CLIC (BIH Clinical Incubator) | Accelerating clinical translation and start-up creation for personalized therapies |
| Cellbricks | Bioprinting and development of complex 3D tissue models |
| Pacira Germany | Gene therapies for musculoskeletal disorders using high-capacity adenoviral vectors |
| Captain T Cell | Next-generation TCR-T cell therapies targeting solid tumors |
| MyoPax | Advanced muscle stem cell technologies for treating muscle diseases |
| CARTemis | Development of innovative CAR-T cell therapies |
| EpiBlok Therapeutics | Gene therapies designed to suppress epileptic seizures |
| BlueRock Therapeutics | Engineered cell therapies for neurology, cardiology, and immunology |
| NeutroGen Therapeutics | Developing a shelf-stable neutrophil transfusion therapy |
| Blueprint Biomed | Advancing regenerative therapies and biomedical engineering |
Highlight project
The Berlin Center for Gene and Cell Therapies (BC GCT) is set to become a key building block in Berlin’s ecosystem for advanced and personalized therapies. Following the groundbreaking in early June, construction is now underway at Bayer’s Berlin Nordhafen campus, located within the newly designated Zukunftsort Health Innovation Quarter Berlin-Mitte. The project is designed to bring research, development, and manufacturing closer together to accelerate the path from gene and cell therapy research into clinical use.
Backed by Bayer, ProBioGen, Charité and BIH, the center will provide modern laboratory space, GMP-compliant production facilities, and space for biotech start-ups developing new therapeutic approaches. Its aim is to further strengthen Berlin’s role in gene and cell therapy innovation in Europe and shorten the distance between early research and patient treatment.
