Germany especially has been home to research into and work on mRNA technology with public and private-sector funding for over 20 years. With the onset of the pandemic, industry and researchers – in a concerted effort with policymakers – developed a highly effective and safe vaccine that has already protected untold numbers of people. BioNTech’s success story shows the sort of supreme accomplishments that can be achieved in Germany in the face of an extreme situation. Yet what went so well here is by no means guaranteed to work in other cases. In fact, BioNTech is an exception to the rule, and precisely that exceptional status highlights deficits in the everyday operation of the German science and innovation landscape. We need to review the experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic and draw the right conclusions for Germany.

Signatory organizations of science and economy together adress key issues to unlock the next level in our science and innovation system to the future Federal Government.