With 26 published patents in 1999, the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (German Cancer Research Center) in Heidelberg occupies a leading position among the German research institutes and enterprises working in the area of biotechnology. According to an international evaluation entitled “Biotech Top 25“ (USA not included), the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum is as successful as the industrial enterprises BASF and Bayer. The only other large German research organization ahead of the Center is the Max Planck Society, which is ranked number 5 (with 36 patents) on an international rank list recently published by the journal Bio Tech International – The European Magazine for the Life Science Industry, vol. 11, No. 6.
The Krebsforschungszentrum is listed on twelfth position of the international comparison. The next German research institution on the list is the Center for Biotechnological Research in Braunschweig, which ranks number 24 with 14 patents. The rank list is based on a patent database operated by Derwent Information Ltd. in London which incorporates documents on all patents filed with the German Patent and Trade Mark Office at the moment of publication. The database captures filed patents only in the country of origin, not their licensing in other countries.
The evaluation is a numerical documentation of the enforced efforts undertaken by the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum in recent years to protect scientific results, particularly in the field of biotechnology, by rapid patenting and thus to offer incentives for cooperation and license agreements with industrial enterprises. The Center’s activities have already led to several license agreements and interesting projects, such as a participation in the foundation of an enterprise aimed at the development of novel methods for early cancer detection (MTM Laboratories, Heidelberg) or cooperation agreements, e. g., with LION Bioscience in the field of biotechnology and with Merck, Darmstadt, concerning projects aimed at improving diagnostics and therapy for intestinal cancer.
About DKFZ
With more than 3,000 employees, the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) is Germany’s largest biomedical research institute. DKFZ scientists identify cancer risk factors, investigate how cancer progresses and develop new cancer prevention strategies. They are also developing new methods to diagnose tumors more precisely and treat cancer patients more successfully. The DKFZ's Cancer Information Service (KID) provides patients, interested citizens and experts with individual answers to questions relating to cancer.
To transfer promising approaches from cancer research to the clinic and thus improve the prognosis of cancer patients, the DKFZ cooperates with excellent research institutions and university hospitals throughout Germany:
- National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT, 6 sites)
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK, 8 sites)
- Hopp Children's Cancer Center (KiTZ) Heidelberg
- Helmholtz Institute for Translational Oncology (HI-TRON Mainz) - A Helmholtz Institute of the DKFZ
- DKFZ-Hector Cancer Institute at the University Medical Center Mannheim
- National Cancer Prevention Center (jointly with German Cancer Aid)
The DKFZ is 90 percent financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and 10 percent by the state of Baden-Württemberg. The DKFZ is a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers.