Tag Archives: Joachim Eeckhout

LaBiotechMap (a map of European biotechnology companies)

Thanks to Joachim Eeckhout of the LaBiotechMap team for contacting me regarding his and co-founder Philip Hemme’s European  biotechnology company map.

You can find the map here and for those who need an incentive to explore, here’s a bit of information and a few images from the site’s homepage to whet your interest,

It’s Elegant.

We spent time designing the map. And it’s apparent. Benefit from its unique user experience and finally enjoy surfing through Biotech companies.

It’s Focused.

Instead of gathering the universe of Biotech companies, we offer you a pre-selected galaxy. It results in the most coherent European Biotech Database.

It’s Smart.

Weekly updated, to keep you on track. Searchable, to directly reach your target. Sortable, for high precision.
In a word: Smart.

Here’s a screen capture or representation of the map,

LaBiotechMap

Here’s a screen capture or representation of the database search,

LaBiotechDatabase

Here’s more about the project from the FAQ (frequently asked questions) page,

What is our definition of a Biotech company?

Biotech is certainly one of the most difficult technological term to define.

For us, Biotech is not all life sciences, neither beer or cheese manufacturing. The gene editing revolution of the 80s gave birth to the term Biotechnology and is linked to the foundation of Genentech in California. Today, Biotechnology have a significant impact on the World by helping cure, feed and fuel people. Ground-breaking technologies includes for example gene therapy, biofuels, monoclonal antibodies, cell therapy and GMOs.

Which are our selection criteria?

Our selection criteria to enter for free on the map is to have raised or generated over €1M and to be innovative (spending high % of revenues in R&D and owning patents).

Can you help us improving it?

Yes, everybody can participate. You saw a company missing, a wrong information, an old information or something else? You can use our feedback page or send us a mail to contact-at-labiotechmap.com

Can people stop getting bored by surfing through Biotech companies?

We hope so.

Can I share the map if I like it?

We hope so.

They have a company blog on the website which doesn’t include any dates on the posts (sigh) but I believe their mention of launching the final version of the map in Munich (Munchen, Germany) is relatively recent,

Here we go, we launched the final version of LaBiotech Map in Munich in front of 30 CEOs during a brunch organized by the IZB cluster.

Creating a European Biotech Map may sound crazy, but we like challenges. We started working on it in September 2014 and launched a beta version beginning of November. Within 3 months, we received over 100 exciting feedback and more than 2000 people tried it out. …

I wish the founders and their team good luck with visualizing the biotech company scene in Europe.

Final note: this is not the only European map of its kind, there’s also France’s interactive nanotechnology map featured in my Feb. 4, 2013 posting.