Science is at the heart of everything we do. We conduct research and development (R&D) worldwide in order to develop new products and services to improve the quality of life of patients and satisfy the needs of our customers. Further optimizing the relevance and efficiency of our research and development activities – either on our own or in cooperation with third parties – is one of our top priorities.
In 2020, approximately 7,900 employees worked for our company, researching innovations to address long-term health and technology trends in both established and growth markets (2019: approximately 7,800).
Expenditures for R&D amounted to € 2.3 billion in 2020 (2019: € 2.3 billion). In our R&D activities, we focus on both in-house research and external collaborations that enable us to increase the productivity of our research while simultaneously reducing financial outlay. The organizational setup of our R&D activities reflects our structure with three business sectors. With our Healthcare business sector’s research pipeline, we aspire with our research pipeline to make a positive difference for patients – always with the goal to help create, improve, and prolong life. Our main research areas include oncology, immuno-oncology, and immunology including multiple sclerosis. In the Life Science business sector, our research activities focus on technologies for laboratory and life science applications as well as the support of new developments. We continue to focus on digitized and automated labware, DNA purification for downstream applications and emerging chemical synthesis, as well as software for our BioContinuum™ Platform to accelerate Biopharma 4.0. We remain dedicated to delivering on our core competencies, such as filtration, pure lab water, and diagnostic solutions. The main focus of our Performance Materials business sector’s research is on the development of innovative materials and technologies required for the latest generations of memory chips and processors. In addition, Performance Materials develops materials for OLED and LC displays as well as new effect pigments for use in the automotive, cosmetics and printing industries.
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|
|
|
|
|
Change |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
€ million |
|
2020 |
|
2019 |
|
€ million |
|
% |
Healthcare |
|
1,640 |
|
1,666 |
|
-26 |
|
-1.5% |
Life Science |
|
313 |
|
276 |
|
37 |
|
13.3% |
Performance Materials |
|
274 |
|
267 |
|
6 |
|
2.4% |
Corporate and Other |
|
62 |
|
59 |
|
3 |
|
4.3% |
Total |
|
2,288 |
|
2,268 |
|
20 |
|
0.9% |
The ratio of research expenditure to Group sales was 13.0% (2019: 14.0%). The decline is due to the positive sales development.