CLOSER TO EUROPE The new home of the European Medicines U E Agency (EMA) should be located centrally . E within Europe. Optimally accessible. P Set within a strong neigh bourhood. O R Germany is applying for the city of Bonn, U E at the heart of the European - O T Rhine Region, to be the location - R E of the EMA’s new home. S LO .C › WWW FOREWORD e — Federal Min öh iste Gr r o nn f H a e rm al e th CLOSER H TO EUROPE The German application is for a very European location: he EU 27 will encounter policy challenges Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. The Institute Bonn. A city in the heart of Europe. Extremely close due to Brexit, in healthcare as in other ar- for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care located in T eas. A new site for the European Medicines nearby Cologne is Europe’s leading institution for ev- to Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Luxembourg. Agency (EMA) must be found. Within the idence-based drug evaluation. The Paul Ehrlich Insti- Situated within the tri-state nexus of North Rhine- EU, the organisation has become the primary centre for tute, which has 800 staff members and is located a mere drug safety – and therefore patient safety. hour and a half away from Bonn, contributes specific, Westphalia, Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate. This is internationally acclaimed expertise on approvals and where the idea of a European Rhine Region has come to The EMA depends on close cooperation with nation- batch testing of biomedical pharmaceuticals and in re- life. Through a shared history ­­— and a shared future al approval authorities on drug approval processes. The search on testing procedures and standards. German approval regulator is the internationally ac- credited Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices Bonn meets all of the requirements Europe has stipu- (BfArM). The BfArM is based in Bonn. That’s why: lated for the new location of the EMA. Bonn is a Euro- pean city. It is located close to the borders with France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Bonn is a Germany is applying for strong location for research and pharmaceuticals. the city of Bonn to be the new Bonn is a city situated within a region that is both home to the European strong in health policy and highly international. Bonn Medicines Agency (EMA). combines the advantages of short distances, an excel- lent labour market, comparatively low-cost housing, in- ternational schools and childcare and a wide range of recreation offerings. Building sites are available which Immediate proximity to such a large national regu- are ideally suited for the EMA, particularly in terms of latory authority as the BfArM is a crucial point in de- accessibility. cision-making on the future EMA location. The geo- graphical nearness would ensure that professional I very much hope that together we will be able to make collaboration can be carried out rapidly and smoothly. It a good European decision in the interest of drug and pa- would guarantee the EMA’s ability to continue its work tient safety. Bonn will deliver. seamlessly despite relocation, even at the highest levels. The BfArM with its 1,100 certified experts means that Bonn is home to the largest national regulatory author- Best wishes, ity in Europe, as well as the most important authority for many procedures, after the British Medicines and 3 Bonn is an aspiring city: the spires of the Bonn Minster in the foreground and the Post Tower and the UN Campus in the background. CONTENTS CONTENTS A new home for the EMA pp. 10–27 REQUIREMENTS Building complexes, accessibility, quality of life: Why Bonn is right for 1 the EMA p. 18 STRONG NEIGHBOURS Closer to Europe — Tremendous opportunities close by: Germany is applying Interview – A conversation with BfArM Executive Director Prof. Dr. STRONG NEIGHBOURS — p. 18 for Bonn to be the new Karl Broich home of the EMA Portrait – The significance pp. 8–27 of the Paul Ehrlich Institute p. 30 THE EUROPEAN 2 RHINE REGION Where the idea is unfolding Closer to everyone — of a region that transcends borders Site advantages: p. 34 INFOGRAPHIC The European Rhine Well-connected: Bonn and Region the European Rhine Region pp. 28–35 CLOSE-UP — p. 38 p. 38 CLOSE-UP Cosmopolitan, secure, vibrant … even more reasons in favour of Bonn as location of the EMA p. 44 INVITATION Mayor Ashok Sridharan: Bonn is ready for the EMA 3 OUT AND ABOUT IN BONN REQUIREMENTS — p. 10 p. 46 Beethoven and cherry blossoms: Closer to you — a stroll through the Bonn up close city with the Mayor pp. 36–54 OUT AND ABOUT IN BONN — p. 46 6 7 The Rhine is one of Europe’s largest rivers. From the Alps it traverses 1,234 kilometres through the heart of the continent to empty into the North Sea. Steeped in European history and the source of many tales, the river is a life line, a major waterway, an energy supplier and a tourist attraction. Above all, one can say that it is constant. Its waters flow through six countries. It has completed roughly half of his journey be- fore reaching Bonn. Today the idea of a free, peaceful and international Germany within a united Europe remains anchored in the city, which for half a century was the seat of the West German government – the political centre from which Konrad Adenauer, Willy Brandt, Helmut Schmidt and Helmut Kohl served as Chancellor. This is in part due to Bonn having reinvented itself as a European and international city following the massive post-unification project to relocate the capital, Bonn becoming the seat of the United Nations and many other 1 international organisations in Germany. History has been written in Bonn on many occasions. The future of the conti- Bonn nent continues to be shaped here, in the Closer to Europe — booming European Rhine Region Germany is applying for Bonn to be the new home of the EMA 8 9 CLOSER TO EUROPE REQUIREMENTS Why Europe is an unprecedented success story. It is a place virtually without parallel anywhere else in the Bonn is right world, where people can live in safety, freedom and self-determination. The idea fostered by the six founding members has grown into the Union of 28. The British however have opted to exit the Union, for which will have far-reaching consequences for the European Medicines Agency (EMA). First and foremost, the Agency needs a new home the EMA he European Medicines Agency (EMA) runs like a fine-tuned ma- T chine. Each year the Agency’s roughly 890 experts meet with What is the EMA’s some 36,000 visiting professionals, collaborating mission? as a network via several thousand audio, video The EMA protects and web conferences. The requirements for a new the health of people location for the EMA are thus demanding. Bonn and animals by fulfils these criteria, offering regulating the approval of human and veterinary drugs and medical devices The EMA will be and coordinates their able to continue its work monitoring by nation- al partner authorities seamlessly under optimal in the member states. conditions in Bonn. 1. Suitable facility options 2. at a major knowledge location, amid strong neighbours INFO 3. Modern digital infrastructure The EMA provides com- 4. Superior accessibility prehensive information about its mission on its 5. An attractive labour market website www.ema.europa. 6. Abundant hotel accommodations eu/ema, along with and conference facilities the latest patient safety advisories 7. Family-friendly living 10 11 CLOSER TO EUROPE REQUIREMENTS mary traffic arteries Reuterstrasse and Willy- Brandt-Allee afford comfortable arrival and departure. An underground car park is to be real- Facility options ised with approx. 1,000 car and 370 bicycle spac- es. The location also has superior connections The EMA is currently located in Canary Wharf in with the Bonn public transport and regional rail south-east London, occupying a modern 26,450 services. sqm building with high-speed elevators that is configured specifically for the Agency’s needs. The project developer, Art Invest Real Estate, Post-Brexit, the EMA will be able to continue its has many years of experience with international work seamlessly and under optimal conditions in builders and tenants. the heart of the European Rhine Region, as Bonn has several outstanding options for housing the EMA facilities. New buildings with the necessary New building option Impressive planning: high-performance digital infrastructure tailored The Bundesviertel Friedrich-Ebert-Allee The Bundesplatz can soon 100 percent to the needs of the European Medi- (literally translated: look like this. A good location cines Agency can be realised in a 1-A office loca- ‘Federal District’) Up to 110,000 sqm of office space can be rapid- tion not far from the Federal Institute for Drugs The Bundesviertel, ly created on the spacious property Friedrich- for the EMA. and Medical Devices. This will guarantee agile formerly the hub of Ebert-Allee 144. The facility to be newly built for work capability and outstanding working condi- German national the EMA would be a 17-storey tower surround- tions. There are two options which are especially politics, is now where ed by six-storeyed buildings. The building will suitable for the EMA. one in five jobs in meet the highest standards for energy efficiency, Bonn are located, sustainability, disabled access and IT and media ex tending from the technology. This site can also be exclusively tai- New building option Adenauerallee to lored for the EMA. Bundeskanzlerplatz the exclusive resi- dential area of Bad Its glass-roofed atrium will make an ideal meet- This is a top location in Bonn’s coveted Bundes- Godesberg.