Developments in Bavaria and Munich
The Bavarian biotechnology industry continues on its growth trajectory. Despite the challenging global market environment, the number of companies in the Bavarian biopharma sector rose by 1.5% to 548 in 2025. Twenty-six new startups were founded (+62.5%), while grants and financing reached a new record high of over 930 million euros.
Startup boom amid Stable business development
The number of companies in the Bavarian biopharma sector rose to 548 in 2025, an increase of eight companies compared to the previous year. Biotechnology and life sciences companies were the primary drivers of this growth. A total of 26 new startups were founded (+62.5%).
This continues a clear upward trend: Following ten new startups in 2023 and 16 in 2024, 2025 marks a new record high. This development underscores Bavaria’s appeal as a leading innovation hub for biotechnology in Europe.
Employment also showed positive growth. The number of employees in the biopharma sector rose by 3.5% to approximately 59,000. Larger biotech companies, in particular, continued to expand their teams.
Record funding of over 930 Mio Euros
Bavarian biotech companies raised more than 930 million euros in funding in 2025. This once again surpassed the already high figure from the previous year—contrary to the national trend of declining funding. Since 2023, the volume of funding has nearly doubled.
Biotech leader Tubulis, based in Munich, closed the year’s largest funding round with a Series C financing of 344 million euros. In April 2026, the company was acquired by the U.S. pharmaceutical giant Gilead for up to five billion U.S. dollars—impressive proof of the international competitiveness of Bavarian biotechnology.
Other significant funding rounds included ITM securing debt financing of up to 231 million euros, Nuclidium raising 84 million euros in a Series B round, Formycon issuing an oversubscribed corporate bond worth 70 million euros, Immunic raising 57 million euros, and AMSilk securing a total of 52 million euros.
In the early-stage sector, five seed financing rounds with a total volume of over 21 million euros were announced. At the same time, the comparatively low number of larger Series A rounds indicates that financing growth companies remains a challenge.
Clinical pipeline remains strong
The development pipeline of Bavarian biotech companies remains robust. A total of 72 projects are currently in clinical development. The number of Phase II projects showed particularly strong growth, while the number of Phase I projects also increased. In contrast, the number of Phase III projects declined significantly, which is also attributable to the fact that several programs are being conducted with unknown status.
Oncology remains the most important indication, while the field of infectious diseases is gaining in importance. Bavarian Nordic achieved a notable success with FDA approval and European marketing authorization for its chikungunya vaccine.
Investments in the billions strengthen Bavaria as a business location
The region’s positive development is further supported by extensive investments in research and infrastructure. Roche is investing more than 640 million euros in Penzberg to expand its diagnostics and sequencing capabilities, thereby creating around 200 new jobs. At the same time, the new Fraunhofer Center for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology in Penzberg is bolstering research into infectious diseases and immunology with nearly 90 million euros in funding.
The first construction phase of the Max Planck Society’s new life sciences campus in Martinsried has been approved with a budget of 361 million euros, underscoring the long-term commitment to expanding world-class research capabilities. The State of Bavaria is providing up to 500 million euros for the entire project.
Positive outlook
The significant increase in new start-ups, the sector’s strong financial capacity, and continuous investments in research and infrastructure point to continued positive development for the region.
Success stories – interviews – company directory
In addition to facts and figures, the Bavarian Biotech Annual Report features interviews highlighting the perspectives of various industry players, showcases success stories of startups, details the activities of BioM and other clusters, and reports on Bavaria’s biotechnology hubs. The report also includes an up-to-date company directory.
