"MUNICH. The Bavarian capital has long been considered Germany's startup hub. Given its concentration of technological expertise and ambitious founders, comparisons with Silicon Valley in California are a natural fit. Bavarian Minister-President Markus Söder would certainly agree. The Technical University of Munich (TUM) plays a central role in the startup scene, operating a successful startup center called "UnternehmerTUM." This has given rise to the TUM Venture Labs initiative, which aims to promote innovations in engineering, natural and life sciences, artificial intelligence, and medicine.
Now, a unique collaboration is taking place in biotechnology between the American pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and the American company BioLabs, which promotes biotechnological innovations and operates 25 laboratories worldwide. The founder and CEO of BioLabs is the German Johannes Fruehauf.
He calls this an "important milestone for the expansion of our Innovation ecosystem in Germany." BioLabs already operates two similar innovation centers in Germany, Heidelberg and Berlin. But he has high hopes for Munich: "We chose Munich as a location because the city has played a pioneering role in biotechnology for several decades," Fruehauf said in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. He points to the two universities – Ludwig Maximilian University in addition to the Technical University – with important medical research facilities. He says that Munich has a critical mass of potential founders in the field of biotechnology.
Furthermore, the city is the center in Germany for venture capital investors. They are increasingly interested in investing in biotechnology. Fruehauf should know, after all, BioLabs operates a venture capital fund for biotechnology with Mission BioCapital. He cites the very lively start-up scene as another reason for choosing Munich.
The laboratory will be located near the Technical University Hospital on the right bank of the Isar River and thus not far from the Bavarian State Parliament, the Maximilianeum. According to information provided, it will be Fruehauf's 1,800 square meters will be large and can accommodate twelve to fifteen startups.
"The goal is to develop new drugs," he says. Biotechnology, for example, plays an important role in modern cancer therapy and Alzheimer's research.
Due to the demographic trend toward an increasingly aging population, the BioLabs CEO sees this as a future technology with great economic potential.
This also explains why Eli Lilly is involved in the new startup lab. It wouldn't have been possible without the financial resources provided by Eli Lilly, Fruehauf admits. However, he feels it's important to point out that the innovation center is also open to other pharmaceutical companies. According to him, BioLabs works with 18 of the world's 20 largest pharmaceutical companies. "Since its founding 15 years ago, BioLabs has supported 1,200 companies worldwide, which have received $30 billion in venture capital," the founder reports." [1]
1. Start-up-Schmiede für Biotechnologie: Pharmakonzern Eli Lilly finanziert Innovationszentrum in München. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung; Frankfurt. 01 Aug 2025: 24.
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