Berlin: Why Start-ups Choose Bayer Co.Lab

One year after the inauguration of Bayer Co.Lab — the open workspace for start-ups in Berlin — it is time to take stock. European Biotechnology News Magazine spoke with tenants and with Dr Ruth Shah, Head of Bayer Co.Lab Berlin, about the concept, the offering, and the feedback Bayer has received so far.

One year after the inauguration of Bayer Co.Lab — the open workspace for start-ups in Berlin — it is time to take stock. European Biotechnology News Magazine
spoke with tenants and with Dr Ruth Shah, Head of Bayer Co.Lab Berlin, about the concept, the offering, and the feedback Bayer has received so far.

EuroBiotechNews_What is Bayer’s overarching vision for Bayer Co.Lab?
Ruth Shah_Our vision is to create an international network for scientific and entrepreneurial talent. Berlin already enjoys strong global recognition as a hub for creative and innovative minds. We believe innovation is fuelled by partnerships — and this is exactly what makes Bayer Co.Lab so powerful.

Dr Ruth Shah

EuroBiotechNews_What kind of infrastructure does Bayer Co.Lab provide?
Ruth Shah_Bayer Co.Lab is fully integrated into the Bayer campus. It offers 1,000 sqm of open-plan laboratory and office space, including both collaborative areas and secure, closed laboratory environments. Everything is turnkey-ready: fully furnished, equipped, and state-of-the-art — allowing start-ups to begin operations immediately. We aim to build a genuine community while ensuring confidentiality where needed. Shared laboratories complement protected areas for sensitive work, board meetings, and presentations.

EuroBiotechNews_Which models or examples inspired the life science incubator?
Ruth Shah_Berlin already offers strong infrastructure for early-stage companies. Being embedded within the Bayer campus gives our tenants direct access to more than 4,000 pharmaceutical experts. Even with the local advantages, we have applied learnings from our other Bayer Co.Lab incubators in Cambridge (USA), Kobe (Japan), and Shanghai (China). Berlin’s ecosystem is expanding rapidly, allowing us to focus on strengthening and supporting it. Our goal is to encourage entrepreneurship and accelerate the journey from start-up to clinic. There is enormous innovation potential in Germany and across Europe — and we want to help unlock it.

EuroBiotechNews_How does the selection process for new tenants work?
Ruth Shah_Bayer Co.Lab is a key element of Bayer’s external innovation strategy. Start-ups should align with our strategic therapeutic areas: oncology, cardiovascular and renal diseases, immunology, neurology and rare diseases. Applications are arriving on a rolling basis and evaluated globally. We look for scientific innovation, strong teams, and founders with the ability to drive their ideas forward. A global assessment committee, including experts from Bayer’s scientific and business development teams – as well as “arm’s-length” platform companies BlueRock Therapeutics and AskBio – participate in the selection process. Applicants pitch directly to these experts.

Co.Lab Berlin Shared and Equipped Laboratory Space

EuroBiotechNews_What exactly does Bayer Co.Lab offer its tenants?
Ruth Shah_Our offering is built on three pillars: environment, expertise, and ecosystem:

› Environment:
The physical workspace – equipped laboratories and offices – provides a unique value in Berlin, and allows startups to focus their resources on the most critical areas and operate in a lean manner. Being embedded in the broader Bayer campus offers additional infrastructure and resources.

› Expertise:
Access to specialists across Bayer’s global organisation. Tenants receive mentorship tailored to their needs, with connections across all Bayer Co.Lab sites in Cambridge (USA), Shanghai, Kobe, and Berlin.

› Ecosystem:
We connect start-ups with investors, CROs, CDMOs, patent experts and more. We also invest in training and education to help them mature into independent organisations. These measures are valuable in accelerating the start-up companies. As one tenant put it: “The internationality and infrastructure accelerate us – we are winning time.”

EuroBiotechNews_How do you measure success across these three pillars?
Ruth Shah_It is important to consider the entire start-up journey. Bayer Co.Lab is not designed for long-term residence – companies grow, graduate, and move onto bigger things. The Berlin site is just starting, but we are already seeing significant signs of growth scientifically and financially from tenant across all our sites in the US, Japan and China. We do not measure success in numbers of meetings or events. Instead, we listen to the tenants – and even early-stage teams tell us that the connection to Bayer makes a meaningful difference.

EuroBiotechNews_Do tenants have to move out after a certain time?
Ruth Shah_We expect start-ups to stay for a couple of years, but there is no strict deadline. The aim is to support them until they reach their next inflection point. Early-stage developments can take unpredictable turns, so flexibility is key. Bayer Co.Lab is not meant as just another comfort zone – it exists to help ideas mature and enter global competition.

EuroBiotechNews_What happens if a strategy has to be changed?
Ruth Shah_This is where the “no strings attached” principle becomes essential. Strategic shifts are natural in early development. Bayer does not take equity, nor are there rights of first refusal or exclusivity clauses. We maintain regular contact with Bayer experts from day one. The intention is to drive open innovation while offering mentorship as a true value-add, without limiting the start-up’s future choices. We also support access to capital, but again, we are not taking any equity or investment.

EuroBiotechNews_How does Co.Lab connect to other Bayer units such as Leaps by Bayer?
Ruth Shah_Bayer Co.Lab is Bayer Pharmaceutical’s start-up incubator. Leaps, in contrast, is the impact venture arm for all three divisions that make up Bayer – covering not only biopharma but also agritech and other fields. We collaborate closely and often mentor start-ups together, but the application processes and underlying models remain separate and are different.

EuroBiotechNews_How can start-ups apply?
Ruth Shah_Applications are open globally. Most candidates apply directly to a specific Bayer Co.Lab location, some may have two favourite choices, others are agnostic and might not be able to move to a physical location, which is why we have added Bayer Co.Lab Connect. But we are also exploring new models. Some applicants require just a desk or two. Others seek only access to the network and mentorship rather than physical lab space. For these, we are developing case-by-case solutions, for example, offering virtual mentorship to avoid unnecessary relocation.

EuroBiotechNews_Which plans do you have to strengthen the Bayer Co.Lab network even further?
Ruth Shah_Bayer is fully committed to Berlin. We are continuing to develop the campus into a true life science hub. Bayer has a long history in Berlin and Bayer Co.Lab represents a new opportunity – for both the company and the ecosystem. We listen to the ecosystem’s needs while helping it grow. This benefits not only Bayer but the entire region as well. We are already planning expansions: a new home in 2028, a larger footprint, more offerings, and a close partnership with the future Berlin Centre for Cell and Gene Therapy. Bayer Co.Lab Berlin is only one year old – and this is just the beginning. Our tenants will grow alongside us. Interest from around the world shows we have launched something truly attractive.

While preparing the interview with Bayer Co.Lab and its first two tenants, Captain T Cell (*) and Myopax (**), a third resident was announced at Bayer Co.Lab’s first anniversary celebration: EpiBlok. EpiBlok Therapeutics GmbH is developing innovative gene therapies for focal epilepsy. Founded by scientists at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the Medical University of Innsbruck, the company engineers adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors to deliver dynorphin directly into the brain, with the aim of suppressing seizures at their point of origin. Its pioneering “release-on-demand” mechanism for dynorphin delivery offers significant potential for patients living with drug-refractory focal epilepsy. The founders Regina Heilbronn and Christoph Schwarzer received a warm welcome and are looking forward to working closely with experts from Bayer and AskBio to leverage their cell and gene therapy capabilities.

Team Captain T Cell

Additional statements came from the first two selected start-ups

* Start-up tenant Captain T Cell with Janna Hachmann and Felix Lorenz highlighted: “ We received valuable feedback from more than 15 experts. Managing such a high-level evaluation process successfully is now part of our track record – and helped in our last financing round.” Felix Lorenz confirmed the attractiveness and summarised the mindset: “ The view from the 11th floor does something to your team — Berlin looks wide open to you.”

** The team of Myopax (Eric Metzler, Verena Schöwel, Mina Petkova) put it succinctly: “ To hear from big pharma that you are ‘on strategy’ is empowering.” And: “The fully equipped lab space is super helpful and gives an impact to quick start.”