The company's purpose is to conduct research, development, manufacturing, sales, and licensing of products in the fields of biotechnology, pharmacy, medical technology, diagnostics, and therapy, as well as related fields. The company may establish branches and subsidiaries both domestically and abroad and may participate in other companies both domestically and abroad. The company may acquire, hold, manage, encumber, exploit, and dispose of intellectual property rights both domestically and abroad, as well as finance other companies. The company may grant direct or indirect financing to its direct or indirect subsidiaries and to third parties, including their direct or indirect shareholders and their direct or indirect subsidiaries. It may also provide securities of all kinds for its own liabilities and those of other companies (including direct or indirect shareholders of the company or companies in which these shareholders are directly or indirectly involved), including pledges on or fiduciary transfers or assignments of the company's assets, or provide guarantees, enter into sureties, or otherwise secure or guarantee obligations of the company or these other companies, whether for a fee or not. Furthermore, it may engage in liquidity equalization/concentration of net liquidity (cash pooling) with the aforementioned companies or join such arrangements, including periodic account balancing (balancing). The company may do all of this without consideration, on preferential terms, without interest, excluding the profit-seeking nature of the company, and by incurring clustering risks. The company may engage in all commercial, financial, and other activities that appear suitable to promote the company's purpose or are related thereto.