Berlin is knorke: Biotechnology from Berlin
Berlin, 24. June 2024 – In the industry, the long, orange-coloured rabbit has long been known beyond the Berlin city limits. The logo belongs to the life science company biotechrabbit, which owes its unusual name to its founder Dr. Bernd Haase. Among other things, the biotech company produces proteins that are sold as individual enzymes or specially produced formulations and that are used in diagnostics.
Founded in 2011, the company now has 43 employees and is based in Berlin-Adlershof. Development and production are carried out here, as well as research – in over 30 rented laboratories in the Centre for Biotechnology and the Environment (ZBU ). The company also developed there a very special enzyme mix, consisting of six enzymes and other ingredients, which suddenly gave biotechrabbit an international presence. The enzyme mix in question forms the basis for the polymerase chain reaction, known to many people as PCR, especially since the corona pandemic. At the height of the pandemic, the company supplied manufacturers around the world, who in turn used it to produce tests that detect the Covid-19 pathogen in the human body using the biochemical PCR method.
However, the biotechrabbit portfolio has even more to offer and is both versatile and innovative. In addition to enzyme production, it also contains monoclonal antibodies and other laboratory reagents that are also used in diagnostics and life science research. The in-house freeze-drying process, known as lyophilization, which has been offered since 2012, secures the company’s position as the world market leader in terms of performance – meaning that lyophilization can save costs and effort for shipping and storing the enzymes. The products and services are also so diverse because they are also used in the food and environment sectors. In addition, the biotechrabbit team supports customers with diagnostic developments and promotes research projects such as the one at the TU Braunschweig for the International synthetic biology competition for student teams iGEM, in which enzymes and reagents from biotechrabbit were also used.
Recently, the Berliners experienced another milestone – due to strong demand from China, Dr. Haase and his team opened an office in Shanghai in November 2023. But that’s not all – a branch is currently being planned in the US.
Together with other biotech companies, the company is thus making an effective contribution to strengthening Berlin as a top location for biotechnology. In addition to biotechrabbit, the most successful stakeholders include the analytical laboratory AZ Biopharm, Glycotype GmbH, which specialises in antibodies for cancer therapies, and ProBioGen AG, which develops biopharmaceutical active ingredients and vaccines. Together with other companies, they make biotechnology an important driver of innovation for the Berlin-Brandenburg region and contribute to the research, development and production of pioneering products and services