FIZ Frankfurt Biotechnology Innovation Center

What FIZ Frankfurt Biotechnology Innovation Center does

FIZ Frankfurt Biotechnology Innovation Center is a public-private technology center founded in 2002 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, serving small and medium-sized life sciences companies. It is operated as a GmbH with three equal shareholders — the state of Hesse, the city of Frankfurt am Main, and the Frankfurt Chamber of Industry and Commerce — under the leadership of Managing Director Dr. Christian Garbe. The campus provides 25,000 m² of laboratory and office space with clean rooms up to S3 biosafety standard, shared services (a daycare center, on-site restaurant, and underground parking), and currently hosts approximately 20 tenant companies collectively employing ~700-800 highly specialized staff, including enterprise tenants such as Bruker, Octapharma, and Merz Pharma alongside growth-stage startups.

The center's core product is the FiZ Synergy Project platform, comprising German Genethics (a precision-medicine initiative using Big Data algorithms and a globally unique database linking molecular-genetic diagnosis of cancer tissue with cumulative clinical knowledge), Ayurgenomics (a 2019 collaboration with India's All India Institute of Ayurveda integrating Ayurvedic principles with biotechnology), Empowering Emerging Markets / E²M (international consulting connecting Frankfurt startups with emerging markets), and Data Airport (a health-data aggregation initiative leveraging Frankfurt's IT infrastructure, including DE-CIX). The underlying technical stack combines Next Generation Sequencing for tumor DNA analysis, high-resolution gene expression analysis, and risk-based clinical trial management systems provided by tenant partners.

Commercially, FiZ generates revenue through three streams: (i) recurring rental income from laboratory, clean room, and office space on the 25,000 m² campus; (ii) professional services revenue from coordinating Synergy Projects on behalf of industry and service-industry partners; and (iii) international consulting fees from advising governments and organizations on building innovation ecosystems. Specific pricing is not publicly disclosed. Its go-to-market blends a direct enterprise field-sales motion (for campus tenants and consulting clients) with a network-partner motion that connects industry, science, and political stakeholders nationally and internationally under the 'New German Engineering' positioning. The customer base spans small and medium-sized life sciences firms (primary), precision-medicine and cancer-treatment specialists (primary), and international governments (secondary).

Name

FIZ Frankfurt Biotechnology Innovation Center

Legal name

FiZ Frankfurter Innovationszentrum Biotechnologie GmbH

Website

https://fiz-biotech.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

FIZ Frankfurt Biotechnology Innovation Center is a public-private technology center in Frankfurt am Main that provides laboratory, clean-room, and office infrastructure plus Synergy Project coordination to small and medium-sized life sciences companies, hosting ~20 tenant firms on a 25,000 m² campus.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biotechnology Technology Center / Life Sciences Incubator

NAICS

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Process Development & Tech Transfer (Upstream/Downstream/MSAT) (HLAGAGAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Clinical Trial Supply, Logistics & Vendor Management FSP (HLAGAOAH)

Keywords

• Biotechnology incubator services
• Life sciences infrastructure
• Precision medicine solutions
• Biotech consulting services
• Laboratory space leasing

Headquarters

HQ city

Frankfurt

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Real Estate and Infrastructure Services: FiZ operates as a technology center providing laboratory and office space to life sciences companies. Revenue is generated through rental of 25,000 m² of space including laboratories, clean rooms up to S3 standard, shared services, restaurant, daycare, and parking.
2. Synergy Project Coordination: FiZ Management supports and develops start-ups and coordinates projects on behalf of international industry and service industry partners. Clients benefit from first-class experts from business, life sciences and IT.
3. International Consulting Services: FiZ advises international governments and organizations on promoting local life science companies and creating founder-friendly corporate culture, connecting them with German high-tech solutions and startups.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

FIZ operates a market-oriented biotechnology technology center providing laboratory and office space (25,000 m²) plus shared services to small and medium-sized life sciences companies. In parallel, it runs FiZ Synergy Projects (German Genethics, Ayurgenomics, E²M, Data Airport) that deliver precision-medicine data services and international market-entry consulting. Revenue is generated from campus rentals, project coordination fees, and advisory services to international governments and organizations.

Product overview

FIZ Frankfurt Biotechnology Innovation Center is a public-private partnership technology center offering a platform-plus-infrastructure model. The core offering includes FiZ Synergy Projects (German Genethics, Ayurgenomics, Empowering Emerging Markets E²M, Data Airport) that provide innovation and business development services, supported by a campus infrastructure with 25,000 m² of laboratory/office space and shared services (FiZ Kids daycare, LabRestaurant). The campus hosts approximately 20 resident companies including biotech firms (BioCopy, bio.logis, GenXPro, Cyntegrity, GFE, Octapharma, Merz Pharma), research centers (MBN Research Center, Proteome Sciences, Bruker), and service providers (SanaClis, INNOVECTIS, Intellisource, Reichwein IT), all focused on life sciences innovation, precision medicine, and digital health.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• German Genethics: A FiZ Synergy Project focused on precision medicine, combining molecular-genetic diagnosis of cancerous tissue with cumulative knowledge to create individual treatment plans using Big Data solutions.
• Empowering Emerging Markets (E²M)
• Data Airport
• Ayurgenomics

Products and services

• German Genethics FiZ Synergy Project that combines molecular-genetic diagnosis of cancerous tissue with cumulative knowledge from a globally unique database of trade journals, molecular-biological databases, clinical trial results, and recognized treatments to generate individual therapy recommendations using Big Data algorithms. Targets biotech companies, hospitals, and clinical research partners.
• Ayurgenomics FiZ Synergy Project and research collaboration with the All India Institute of Ayurveda integrating Ayurvedic principles with modern biotechnology through evidence-based genetic and epigenetic analyses. Targets research institutions and international partners in integrative medicine.
• Empowering Emerging Markets (E²M) FiZ program connecting Frankfurt-based startups with emerging markets through consulting, networking, and innovation support. Advises international governments and organizations on promoting local life science companies, creating founder-friendly corporate cultures, and accessing German high-tech solutions.
• Data Airport FiZ initiative to create a central platform for medical knowledge, leveraging Frankfurt's IT infrastructure to aggregate health data for improved diagnostics and new therapy development. Targets healthcare and life sciences partners.
• Campus Infrastructure (Lab and Office Space) 25,000 m² of laboratory and office space including flexible floor/module laboratories, clean rooms up to S3 standard, shared services, underground parking, restaurant, and daycare. Leased to life sciences companies on a recurring basis within Science City Frankfurt-Riedberg.
• FiZ Kids Daycare On-site corporate daycare service offering 20 childcare places for children aged 3 months to 3 years, available to FiZ tenant employees and local Riedberg district families. Operated in partnership with BVZ GmbH.
• LabRestaurant On-site restaurant operated by Karst Catering GmbH, providing daily fresh meals for FiZ tenants and external guests, open Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Quantifiable outcome

• Research and development time for next-generation biotherapeutics reduced from approximately 3 years to 12 months
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 October 2019MoU signed in New Delhi during German-Indian government consultations led by Chancellor Angela Merkel. Collaboration in Ayurgenomics to develop evidence-based guidelines integrating Ayurvedic principles with precision medicine. AIIA contributes expertise in traditional Ayurvedic medicine while FiZ provides biotechnological analysis capabilities.
• GenXPro GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in German Genethics project providing high-throughput gene expression analysis and sequencing services for cancer diagnostics.
• University Medical Center of Frankfurt (Institute for Pathology)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in German Genethics project providing pathology expertise and clinical knowledge for precision medicine applications.
• Max Planck Research Center for NeurogeneticscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in German Genethics project contributing research capabilities in neurogenetics and molecular biology.
• GFE (Gesellschaft zur Forschung, Entwicklung und Distribution von Diagnostika im Blutspendewesen)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in German Genethics project contributing diagnostic expertise in blood donation screening and molecular diagnostics.
• EvolvuscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in German Genethics project contributing technology solutions for data management and analysis.
• PersonomecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in German Genethics project contributing personalized medicine expertise.
• University of Medicine and Pharmacy Iuliu Hatieganu Cluj (UMF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational academic partner in German Genethics project contributing research and clinical expertise.
• Karst Catering GmbHminorOthersCatering partner operating LabRestaurant at FiZ since January 2021, providing daily fresh meals to FiZ tenants and external guests.
• BVZ GmbHminorOthersPartner for parents in Riedberg district for FiZ Kids daycare center, which has 20 childcare places for children aged 3 months to 3 years.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• LabCentral: Cambridge, MA biotech incubator providing shared lab space, offices, and services to high-potential life sciences startups. Closely comparable core offering of lab infrastructure plus program support for biotech tenants.
• BioGenerator: St. Louis-based life sciences startup generator providing lab space, programming, and seed funding to biotech companies. Comparable model combining infrastructure provision with company creation and growth support.
• MaRS Discovery District: Toronto-based innovation district hosting a comparable mix of biotech, healthcare, and tech companies with shared services and programs. Similar scale (~1.5M ft²), tenant mix, and public-private support model.
• BioPark Regensburg: German biotech park with comparable public-private partnership model, hosting life sciences companies and providing research infrastructure. Directly comparable in mission, scale, and operational model to FiZ.
• Innovation Center for Biotechnology Martinsried (IZB): Leading German biotech innovation center near Munich operating lab/office space and shared services for life sciences startups. Closest structural analog to FiZ - both are public/private-supported biotech campuses hosting SMEs and providing innovation programs.

Broad incumbents

• Bayer CoLaborator: Bayer's biotech incubator providing sponsored lab space and resources to early-stage life sciences companies. Comparable in offering lab infrastructure to biotech startups, but as part of Bayer's broader corporate innovation strategy.
• JLABS (Johnson & Johnson Innovation): Global biotech incubator network operated by J&J, offering lab space, programming, and capital to life sciences startups. Comparable in offering mix but operates as part of a much larger corporate portfolio rather than a focused life sciences-only campus.

Others

• European Biotechnology Network: Europe-wide biotech networking and industry intelligence organization. Thematically adjacent to FiZ's role of connecting biotech stakeholders across borders, though not a direct lab infrastructure competitor.

Regional players

• BioM Biotech Cluster Development GmbH: Munich/Bavaria biotech cluster management organization supporting life sciences startups and SMEs with infrastructure, networking, and consulting. Regionally analogous to FiZ but focused on Bavaria rather than Hesse/Rhine-Main.
• Biocat: Catalonia's biotech and life sciences cluster organization coordinating companies, research centers, and innovation programs. Comparable in mission to accelerate regional biotech development, but outside Germany.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fizgmbh
• Facebookfacebook.com/FIZBiotech
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fizbiotech

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about FIZ Frankfurt Biotechnology Innovation Center