Anniversary Timeline

25th Years of Innovation

2000

2000: Vitamin B2 shifts from chemical synthesis to exclusive biotechnological production in less than 15 years

Nominated by: DSM, BASF Organisation in nomination: DSM, BASF Vitamin B2 (riboflavin), is a water-soluble compound, which can be synthesized by plants and microorganisms but..Read More

1999

1999: Messenger RNA (mRNA) patented in relation to therapeutic applications

Nominated by: Nominees: Dr Ingmar Hoerr, co-founder CureVac Professor Katalin Karikó, University of Pennsylvania and BioNTech The existence of mRNA was hypothesized early in the days..Read More

1998

It’s Coming…

1997

1997: First clinical trial with D2E7 (Humira), the first fully human monoclonal antibody approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Nominated by: BIO Deutschland Organisations in nomination: BASF, Abbott, AbbVie, Cambridge Antibody Technology (now MedImmune) Diseases linked to the immune system, such as rheumatoid arthritis were very..Read More

1996

1996: Understanding how the immune system recognises virus-infected cells. Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine

Nominated by: Swiss Biotech Association Organisations in nomination: Rolf M Zinkernagel, Professor of Experimental Immunology at the University of Zurich Viruses infect host cells and reproduce inside them...Read More

1996

1996: First European Commission-approved product following European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA, later EMA) recommendation

Nominated by: Voisin Consulting Life Sciences Organisation in nomination: European Commission 1996 saw the first legal/regulatory framework for medicinal products in the European Union. GONAL-f from..Read More

1996

1996: Introduction of law in Italy for early access to drugs (648/1996) to support rare disease patients

Nominated by: Federchimica Assobiotec Organisation in nomination: Government of Italy Early access programmes for novel medicines can benefit patients suffering from serious illnesses for which effective..Read More