Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is on its way to becoming Germany's number one in the healthcare industry. In the versatile universities, traditional universities and non-university research institutions, life sciences and engineering enter into a promising symbiosis. This innovative research environment not only facilitates international cooperation and a high scientific level. Thanks to a high level of training and methodological competence, it also produces urgently needed specialized experts. In addition to the research institutions, there are many successful companies in the healthcare industry and centers of excellence with high technical competence.

Medical research has been conducted in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern for 600 years. The universities of Rostock (since 1419) and Greifswald (since 1456) are among the oldest in the Baltic region and have had medical faculties from the beginning. Rostock's Unimedizin is even the oldest medical institution in Germany. One of its most successful spin-offs is the biotech pioneer CENTOGENE, European market leader for genetic diagnostic analyses. Employees from more than 40 countries conduct research on rare hereditary diseases at the headquarters in Rostock. The company has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since 2019. In the east of the country on the island of Riems is the headquarters of the renowned Friedrich Löffler Institute. Here, research is conducted on molecular virology and cell biology, infectious medicine, virus diagnostics, new and novel animal pathogens, immunology and epidemiology. The Institute for International Animal Health/One Health (IITG) was also established here in early 2020.

The healthcare industry is growing steadily in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Gross value added has risen from 4.3 billion euros in 2011 to 6.1 billion euros in 2020. Its share of the regional economy as a whole is 14.4 percent. This puts MV in second place nationwide. Our state ranks first in terms of the share of the total labor market accounted for by people employed in the healthcare industry. This is 20.8 percent. Around 12,300 companies work here in the life sciences (biology, biochemistry, bioinformatics, molecular biology, etc.) as well as in the disciplines of medicine and pharmacy.

The state government is aware of the economic importance of the healthcare industry in MV and promotes its development. Among other things, it has launched the Health Industry Master Plan 2030 for this purpose.