Germany Joins the Biotech Race: After years of yielding to fierce public opposition, the German government has picked three regions of the country to spearhead its attempt to make up lost ground in biotech

Five years ago, Germany provided perhaps the most inhospitable climate for biotechnology in the Western world. Now the German government is trying to transform the country virtually overnight into a biotech powerhouse. Last week, it picked three regions of the country for special grants and loans for start-ups and industry-academia collaborations—the spearheads in its attempt to make up lost ground.