KNAUER wins German Innovation Award 2022
KNAUER Wissenschaftliche Geräte, a developer of laboratory instruments and known for their liquid chromatography systems and components, was honoured with the German Innovation Award 2022 in Munich in April for their design and manufacture of large-scale plants, at its own risk, for the ncapsulation of mRNA for COVID-19 vaccines. Equipment for the production of millions of mRNA vaccine doses had never been manufactured by any company before.
KNAUER, one of three recipients of the award, won in the medium-sized company category. The winner in the large companies category was Infineon, whose new technology makes it possible to produce more powerful and longer-lasting computer chips. In the startup category, CUREosity from Düsseldorf won the award for their special rehabilitation therapies via virtual reality.
KNAUER owner, Alexandra Knauer, said they took the risk because they “wanted to do their part to save the world from COVID-19”.More than two billion vaccine doses have now been produced worldwide
using KNAUER equipment.
Carsten Losch, Managing Director, explained that the expertise of the employees and the high added value at KNAUER were factors in its success. Anja Roden, department head, said that KNAUER’s decades of experience in high-pressure pump technology and mixing technology were important prerequisites for the quick implementation. Recently, the portfolio was expanded to include screening and the production of smaller quantities of lipid nanoparticles for personalized therapies.
The award is conferred annually by the renowned weekly business magazine WirtschaftsWoche. Beat Balzli, editor-in-chief, described medium-sized businesses as the secret backbone of the German economy. At the end of a company visit to KNAUERin September, 2021 Angela Merkel, former chancellor of Germany, called the company a “pearl of the SME sector”.
Berlin-based KNAUER said they were delighted to win this special award in their 60th anniversary year.
