In Baden-Württemberg, 193 companies are active in the field of medical or red biotechnology that research, develop and/or produce in the region. In 2023, these companies achieved a revenue of 4.67 billion euros and employed a total of 17,247 persons. Most biotech companies are located in the regions of Mannheim/Heidelberg (62 companies), Freiburg/Offenburg/Lörrach (40 companies) and Reutlingen/Tübingen (29 companies). However, the regions with the highest revenue are Donau-Iller (Laupheim/Ulm/Biberach) and Rhine-Neckar (Heidelberg/Mannheim).

The central importance of medical biotechnology for medical progress became particularly clear during the coronavirus pandemic from 2020 to 2022. While the pharmaceutical industry primarily has the necessary expertise for production and implementation, the mostly smaller, agile biotech companies or start-ups are seen as key drivers of innovation. Personalised medicine is a particularly dynamic field, especially in the area of gene and cell therapies. Here, Baden-Württemberg companies and research institutions are developing novel therapies tailored to individual patients that have the potential to treat serious diseases such as cancer or rare genetic defects in a targeted and sustainable manner. These developments emphasise the region's role as a pioneer in innovative biomedical approaches.

Over the past ten years, more than 77 companies have been founded in the field of medical biotechnology in Baden-Württemberg. However, start-up activity has slowed noticeably since 2021: While ten new companies were founded in 2020, there were only five in both 2021 and 2022. The coronavirus pandemic has brought considerable challenges for founders, particularly in terms of liquidity and financing. To counteract this, the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism has specifically strengthened early-stage financing by expanding the ‘Start-up BW Pre-Seed’ programme.