LSN cluster aiming for European leadership

The scientific institutions are just one pillar of the foundation. "These are complemented by  innovative startups, established SMEs and large companies such as Philips, Olympus. eppendorf and Evotec, which are active in the biotech, pharmaceuticals, medical technology and digital health sectors," says Schacht. The cluster includes no fewer than 600 stakeholders in the states of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein and counts among the key innovative and economic factors in the region. Schacht and his 20-strong team are developing a strategy for these stakeholders to raise the profile of the LSN cluster by 2030. "We have a lot of champions, but some remain 'hidden' outside of our region. We want to and will change that together!"

To change this, Schacht wants to bring more continuity to the cluster's communications. "We increased our social media activity by 25 per cent in 2024. Now, we want to expand and share even more of the many exciting stories from our community." Another strategic focus is the startup scene. "We want to develop the enormous potential of our startups into scaleups  . "Startup funding has already made progress, but we still need to mobilise more private capital". Schacht has extensive managerial experience in the life sciences sector in Germany and the US, and has also founded numerous companies, including three startups that have gone public.

Life science startups in the Hamburg Metropolitan Region hold great potential, according to Schact. Lumeox, for instance, is developing a blood analysis platform for emergency and intensive care medicine, Histolution has developed a microscope that uses laser technology to generate digital images of tumour samples in the operating theatre and Provirex uses gene scissors to remove viral genetic material from infected cells to cure HIV infections. AI-based approaches include Echoscout, which calculates 3D images from ordinary ultrasound images, and CrystalsFirst, which specialises in structural biology analyses of protein crystal for developing medicines.

AI has the potential to change medicine. The AI Act, which took effect in August, imposes strict requirements on AI medical devices and the transition period for the new medical device regulation expired in May. Talks are underway to extend this deadline to avoid jeopardising the availability of medical devices in the EU. This risk has been exacerbated by the ban on certain poly and perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS), also known as persistent chemicals, from 2026. Schacht fears: "Of course, it is good to protect the environment from large quantities of harmful chemicals that are released into the environment where they do not degrade. In medicine, however, only small amounts are used. But they are essential," Schacht stressed. Consultations on a total ban are ongoing, the outcome remains to be seen.

LSN will be attending key trade fairs in 2025 beginning with Arab Health (January 27-30) in Dubai followed by the BIO International Convention from (June 16-19) in Boston and BIO-Europe from (November 3-5) in Vienna to name just a few upcoming dates. 
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