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Pharmaceutical Industry Application - Medical / Health Care - Pharmaceuticals
Combining cutting edge-innovation, a long tradition as the “world´s pharmacy” and continuously growing demand for healthcare products, Germany is the ideal location for pharmaceutical R&D, production, and sales of medicines.Driven by trends such as demographic change, a rise in chronic diseases and an increasing emphasis on prevention and self-medication, Europe’s biggest pharmaceutical market is growing faster than the German economy. Germany belongs to the world’s leading clinical trials locations and - based on R&D investment and patent application levels - is the leading pharmaceutical innovation location in Europe. Building on these competencies, many German organizations have also joined global efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
The country is the largest exporter of medicinal products and ranks among the top pharmaceutical producers worldwide. In light of the global need for personalized medicine, Germany has also evolved into one of the main suppliers of novel biopharmaceuticals. Located in the heart of Europe and benefiting from excellent infrastructure and a highly skilled workforce, the continent’s most populous country offers attractive opportunities and a favorable investment climate for pharmaceutical companies planning to expand internationally.
- Germany constitutes the major European pharmaceutical market and the fourth largest worldwide. In 2019, pharmaceutical industry sales in Germany increased by 5.7 percent, reaching EUR 46.4 billion (ex-manufacturer prices).
- More than 500 pharmaceutical companies are located in Germany. SMEs constitute the backbone of the economic sector, with around 90 percent of drug manufacturers having less than 500 employees. Overall, the German pharmaceutical industry has a workforce of 120,000 people (2019).
- Germany generated production value of EUR 36.1 billion in 2018, making it the leading pharmaceutical manufacturing location in the EU.
- In 2018, the pharmaceutical industry in Germany invested almost EUR 7.4 billion in R&D. The sector shows the highest research intensity across all major German industries – about 12.5 percent of revenues were reinvested in R&D in 2018.