Bavaria shows the great potential of AI and data in medicine: High potential for Germany’s health

• Biotechnology conference "BayOConnect" in Munich unites players from all areas of Bavarian and international biotechnology.
• With around 320 participants, 250 partnering meetings, 15 start-up pitches, 20 exhibitors and over 30 sponsors and partners, BioM successfully promotes networking in the industry.
• AI and data have a significant influence on the creation and transformation of new medicine in Germany.
• Big players as Roche, Google, Amazon and Nvidia, hidden champions and start-ups show developments and applications of AI and big data for a new medicine.
• CMD Health wins the BayOConnect Start-up Award sponsored by Amazon Web Services.
• Bio^M presents the Biotech Report "Biotech in Bavaria 2023/24" with current developments and trends in the Bavarian biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry in figures as well as success stories from science and entrepreneurship in Bavaria.

Additional press photos are available here.

Around 320 players from the Bavarian, German and international biotechnology sector attended the first biotechnology conference "BayOConnect – Forum for Biotech & LifeScience" in Munich, organized by the biotech cluster development organization Bio^M.  On July 2 and 3, big players, SMEs, start-ups, academia, pharma, politics and investors came together to connect. The industry demonstrated the great innovation potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and data in medicine with concrete applications in practice. Start-ups presented new ideas on innovative therapies for cancer, hair loss and chronic lung diseases, among others. In addition, Bio^M presented its latest biotech report with current figures from the Bavarian biopharmaceutical industry.

It takes around 13 years from the idea to the approval of a drug. Artificial intelligence and data can significantly speed up the development of drugs and make it more efficient, thereby improving the chances of survival for patients. What basics and framework conditions therefore need to be established for AI and the use of data? Where does AI have the greatest benefit for our health? And how can innovative start-ups secure funding for the development of their innovations? What do investors expect here?

These questions were discussed in the two sections "Connect to Investments" and "Connect to AI" at the biotech conference "BayOConnect 2024" initiated by Bio^M. Around 320 high-ranking participants from leading companies such as Roche, Google, Amazon and Nvidia as well as from politics, academia, investment and numerous start-ups and SMEs exchanged ideas. The aim was to "connect" and learn from each other in order to advance new ideas and projects, whether through cooperation or early investments.

"As the leading conference and networking event in Bavaria, BayOConnect is dedicated to promoting innovation and economic cooperation," says Prof. Dr. Ralf Huss, Managing Director of Bio^M. "To this end, we bring all stakeholders together to promote ideas, exchange experiences and identify needs. The translation of research results into concrete, market-ready products must be faster and easier. This is what we want to achieve with BayOConnect, but we also want to jointly develop new trends in technology and application."

The event is sponsored by the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, represented by State Secretary Tobias Gotthardt. He emphasized: "BayOConnect brings together what belongs together. As the State Government, we are proud of our strong biotech sector. That is why we support this dialog between companies, business, science and politics. This exchange also helps to ensure that scientific findings are applied more quickly and efficiently." He also announced more support from the Bavarian State Government under the motto "You’ll never walk alone", e.g. through a super venture capital fund to support start-ups with a volume of 600 million euros.

A fast translation of science was also the wish of the attending investors. They provided helpful insights into what investors expect. Overall, the money is available, however, start-ups need to highlight the product and its added value for patients in order to obtain funding.

High potential of AI and data in medicine

The program included top-class keynotes, panel discussions and impulses on the topics of investments in biotechnology, as well as the great potential of AI and big data for medicine and thus for improved healthcare. Examples from application and development showed where AI is already being used to support diagnostics and therapy. In drug development, too, the hope is for more promising drug candidates and faster development to market-ready products – also with the help of large data sets (big data). It is important for science and industry to reach a consensus at an early stage on how data should be made available so that it can be utilized jointly.

"Artificial intelligence has become an established part of our research and development of medicines and diagnostics. We have been successfully using AI in various areas for many years," explains Dr. Anna Bauer Mehren, Data Scientist at Roche and speaker at BayOConnect. "What has improved significantly in recent years is the increasing availability of high-quality data, the ability to train models and the expertise available to drive new models forward. Our aim is to use AI in lead development to make innovative drugs that enable better treatment success available to patients more quickly."

As this year’s main sponsor Roche is focused on shaping the future of medicine and thus improving healthcare, the company fits in perfectly with the objectives of BayOConnect. In Germany, more than 18,200 Roche employees are committed to the well-being of millions of patients worldwide.

Over 30 sponsors supported the event, which underlines the relevance of the topics and the format.

Start-up pitches: from hair loss to cancer therapies

The "big players" of tomorrow also presented their innovative developments. 15 start-up teams presented their innovative ideas in pitches. These were diverse: from the successful treatment of hair loss (Mallia Therapeutics) to targeted cancer therapy using magnetic nanoparticles (BioMagnetix) to inhalation therapies for treating chronic lung diseases (AATec Medical) and many more.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) sponsored the BayOConnect Start-up Award, which Dr. Laurens Gassel from CMD Health received from Joanna Wardzinski (AWS), Tobias Gotthardt and Prof. Dr. Ralf Huss, along with AWS credits worth USD 5,000. CMD Health aims to revolutionize the treatment of temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD) with its innovative digital health application (DiGA). The application is the first to offer a holistic, multidisciplinary digital treatment platform that integrates physiotherapy exercises, psychoeducation and comprehensive disease-specific information, enabling patients to treat their disorder conveniently from home.

A presentation of all start-up projects can be found here.

Innovation exhibition and networking

A particular highlight of BayOConnect was the innovation exhibition, where over 20 start-ups and established companies presented their latest technologies and products. This exhibition offered participants the opportunity to find out first-hand about the latest developments and make valuable business contacts such as to investors. An accompanying poster exhibition showcased innovative ideas and the latest research findings. Furthermore, the participants met in 250 partnering meetings to exchange ideas and explore collaborations.

After the great success of the first edition, the next BayOConnect is expected to take place again on 1-2 July, 2025 at the Design Offices in the München Macherei.