Berlin – October 30, 2026 -- All 34 digital health application (DiGA) companies surveyed by Bitkom report a worsening situation for manufacturers over the past two years, and 82% describe the deterioration as severe. Industry association Pharma Deutschland cited the findings in calling for reliable reimbursement and less bureaucracy for digital therapies.

Berlin – October 30, 2026 -- Only 23.5% of respondents say they use Germany's electronic patient record (ePA), even though 81.5% know it, according to a representative Civey survey commissioned by industry association Pharma Deutschland, 18 months after the nationwide rollout.

Awareness is high, but usage has barely moved since launch

The ePA has been available nationwide since April 29, 2025. Pharma Deutschland says its surveys show awareness was already as high a year ago as it is today, while the number of users has hardly risen in that period.

Zug – October 30, 2026 -- Some 87% of surveyed real estate professionals expect capital investors to withdraw from Berlin, even though only 14% consider an actual socialization of housing stock by 2031 likely. The flash survey of 414 property professionals in Germany, Austria and Switzerland was published days after the Berlin election.

Münster – October 30, 2026 -- The partners of the GET H2 initiative have published a seven-point paper setting out measures to remove the bottlenecks slowing Germany's hydrogen ramp-up, supplementing the impulse paper the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) released on October 20.

DIEBURG – October 30, 2026 -- POLYTECH Health & Aesthetics, which operates in more than 90 countries, and the London Regenerative Institute (LRI) have formed a worldwide partnership to advance adipose tissue-based techniques in aesthetic and reconstructive surgery.

Wiesbaden – October 30, 2026 -- Germany's Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) will publish four datasets on Thursday, 5 November 2026, led by September manufacturing orders and turnover, and will follow on Friday, 6 November with the September production index.

Thursday brings manufacturing, services and labour cost data

Release No. 385 covers manufacturing orders and turnover for September 2026. Destatis will also publish services turnover for August 2026 (No. 387) and the labour cost survey for 2024 (No. 388).

WIESBADEN – October 30, 2026 -- Germany's gross domestic product rose 0.2% in the third quarter of 2026 compared with the second quarter, on a price-, seasonally and calendar-adjusted basis, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reported.

Year-on-year output climbs 1.3% in price-adjusted terms

GDP was 1.3% higher than in the third quarter of 2025 on a price-adjusted basis. Adjusted for both price and calendar effects, the increase was 1.2%.

The economy had already expanded in the first half of 2026, so the third quarter extends a run of growth.

Berlin – October 30, 2026 -- German news broadcaster WELT will run about 32 hours of live special programming around the US midterm elections on November 3 and 4, 2026. Editor-in-chief Helge Fuhst will anchor part of the coverage from a dedicated WELT set at the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Neuss – October 30, 2026 -- Pudu Robotics has opened its European headquarters in Neuss, Germany, consolidating sales, demonstrations, training, warehousing and after-sales service after 11 European markets each recorded annual business growth above 60% over the past two years.

Berlin – October 30, 2026 -- Digital procurement provider FACTUREE has raised its headcount from 53 in 2025 to 62 so far in 2026 and scored an employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) of +42.4, as it was named one of Berlin's best employers for 2026.

The award comes from a study by the daily Tagesspiegel and the Sozialwissenschaftliches Institut Schad. It assessed working-time models, health protection, additional benefits, equal opportunity and development options.