Annual Report 2021

Research and Development

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.

Around 8,300 employees worked in research and development and corresponding support functions in 2021. They dealt with innovations to address long-term health and technology trends in both established and growth markets (2020: approximately 7,900).

Expenditures for R&D amounted to € 2.4 billion in 2021 (2020: € 2.3 billion). The organizational setup of our R&D activities reflects our structure with three business sectors. In the Life Science business sector, our research activities focus on developing innovative technologies for laboratory and life science applications in government and academic labs, the biopharmaceutical industry and the industrial sector. 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. In addition, our teams remain dedicated to delivering advancements in our core portfolios, such as filtration, pure lab water, and diagnostic solutions. With our Healthcare business sector’s R&D pipeline, we aspire to make a positive difference for patients – always with the goal to help create, improve, and prolong lives. Our main research areas include oncology, immuno-oncology, and immunology including multiple sclerosis. The main focus of our Electronics business sector’s research is on the development of innovative materials and technologies required for the manufacturing of ever smaller, faster and more powerful processors and memory chips. In addition, Electronics develops novel materials for next-generation displays and functional and decorative effect pigments for use in the automotive and cosmetics industries and other industrial applications.

Research and Development Costs

 

 

 

 

 

 

Change

€ million

 

2021

 

2020

 

€ million

 

%

Life Science

 

351

 

313

 

38

 

12.1%

Healthcare

 

1,712

 

1,640

 

72

 

4.4%

Electronics

 

278

 

274

 

4

 

1.6%

Corporate and Other

 

67

 

62

 

5

 

8.4%

Total

 

2,408

 

2,288

 

119

 

5.2%

The ratio of research expenditure to Group sales was 12.2% (2020: 13.0%). The decline is due to the positive sales development.

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