Press release - 26/07/2021 Vaccination against hereditary colorectal cancer successful in mice Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center and Heidelberg University Hospital have for the first time been able to delay the development of hereditary colorectal cancer with a protective vaccination. Mice with a hereditary predisposition to colorectal cancer survived significantly longer after vaccination than unvaccinated animals. Combining the vaccination with an anti-inflammatory drug increased the protective effect.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/vaccination-against-hereditary-colorectal-cancer-successful-mice
Gene regulation - 20/07/2021 The many faces of the epigenetic regulator MOF Epigenetic modifications play a crucial role in coordinated gene transcription, and are required for a fertilised egg cell to be able to develop into an organism with different cell types. Dr. Asifa Akhtar from the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg has been studying the essential epigenetic regulator protein MOF for 20 years.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/die-vielen-gesichter-des-epigenetischen-regulators-mof
Press release - 16/07/2021 Corona test with cotton swab To diagnose an infection with the coronavirus, usually a throat swab is taken and genetic viral material detected by using a highly sensitive PCR. To date, more than 65 million of these tests have been performed in Germany alone. Due to the massive increase in testing worldwide and simultaneous loss of production, there was a significant shortage of test materials in the early stage of the pandemic.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/corona-test-cotton-swab
Press release - 15/07/2021 Mechanism for differentiation of specific immune cell types discovered Under certain conditions, our immune system can efficiently fight off infectious diseases and cancer. T cells, especially the gamma delta T cell type, play an important role in this. The issue is that this cell type is extremely infrequent in the human body. Researchers at the University Hospital Tübingen, the University of Heidelberg and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) have now succeeded in finding the cause for the formation of…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/mechanism-differentiation-specific-immune-cell-types-discovered
Press release - 13/07/2021 Breakthrough in research on age-related macular degenerationtion Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the commonest cause of blindness in developed countries affecting seven million in total in Germany, from which 500,000 people are suffering from late stage disease, around half of whom are registered as visually impaired. There are two forms of AMD, ‘wet’ and ‘dry’. There are currently no treatments available for the dry form of the disease (geographic atrophy).https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/breakthrough-research-age-related-macular-degenerationtion
Press release - 12/07/2021 Hijacked immune activator promotes growth and spread of colorectal cancer Through a complex, self-reinforcing feedback mechanism, colorectal cancer cells make room for their own expansion by driving surrounding healthy intestinal cells to death - while simultaneously fueling their own growth. This feedback loop is driven by an activator of the innate immune system. Researchers from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the University of Heidelberg discovered this mechanism in the intestinal tissue of fruit…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/hijacked-immune-activator-promotes-growth-and-spread-colorectal-cancer
Article - 08/07/2021 Individual operation risk assessment by the Cognitive Medical Assistant Despite modern surgical techniques and anaesthetic procedures, serious complications can occur during surgical interventions. An interdisciplinary team at Heidelberg University Hospital has launched a project called the Cognitive Medical Assistant (German: Der Kognitive Medizinische Assistant, KoMed for short), designed to better assess the individual risk of these interventions. The project’s goal is to systematically and comprehensively analyse…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/individual-operation-risk-assessment-cognitive-medical-assistant
Press release - 06/07/2021 High-throughput metabolic profiling of single cells Scientists from the EMBL and the German Cancer Research Center have presented a new method for generating metabolic profiles of individual cells. The method, which combines fluorescence microscopy and a specific form of mass spectroscopy, can analyze over a hundred metabolites and lipids from more than a thousand individual cells per hour. Researchers expect the method to better answer a variety of biomedical questions in the future.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/high-throughput-metabolic-profiling-single-cells
Funding Horizone Europe Funding programme, Funded by: European Union, sb_search.searchresult.label.programSubmissionDate: 31/12/2027 https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/database/funding/horizone-europe
Press release - 23/06/2021 Blood stem cells make brain tumors more aggressive For the first time, scientists from the German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) partner site in Essen/Düsseldorf have discovered stem cells of the hematopoietic system in glioblastomas, the most aggressive form of brain tumor. These hematopoietic stem cells promote division of the cancer cells and at the same time suppress the immune response against the tumor. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/blood-stem-cells-make-brain-tumors-more-aggressive
Article - 22/06/2021 Using virtual reality in the clinic to rehabilitate patients with cognitive disorders Outdated and inadequate methods of neurological rehabilitation are still being used for patients with neurological diseases or injuries – and what’s more, the treatment is usually too late. This is because cognitive training is especially important in the critical phases when the brain is particularly plastic. The Heidelberg-based company living brain proves that early treatment is possible using an extremely innovative method – with concentrated…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/using-virtual-reality-clinic-rehabilitate-patients-cognitive-disorders
Press release - 17/06/2021 To fear or not - how does the brain switch? Which neurons in the brain mediate fear responses - and how do they flip the switch when the danger is over? The research team of Prof. Ingrid Ehrlich at the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomolecular Systems (IBBS), Department of Neurobiology studies these questions. Their latest results obtained in collaboration with scientists at the Friedrich Miescher Institute in Basel (Switzerland), the National Institute of Health (USA), and Innsbruck…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/fear-or-not-how-does-brain-switch
Press release - 16/06/2021 CureVac Provides Update on Phase 2b/3 Trial of First-Generation COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate, CVnCoV CureVac N.V. (Nasdaq: CVAC), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of transformative medicines based on messenger ribonucleic acid (“mRNA”), today announced results of the second interim analysis of its international pivotal Phase 2b/3 study in approximatively 40,000 subjects (the HERALD study) of CureVac’s first-generation COVID-19 vaccine candidate, CVnCoV.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/curevac-provides-update-phase-2b3-trial-first-generation-covid-19-vaccine-candidate-cvncov
Press release - 10/06/2021 Nose2Brain – Active substances without detour through the nose into the brain Effective drugs for the treatment of diseases of the central nervous system do exist. However, the blood-brain barrier, which protects the brain as the body's control center, makes it especially difficult for therapeutic biomolecules to pass through. Thus, researchers from an international consortium coordinated by the Fraunhofer IGB have spent the last four and a half years developing a novel system in the EU project "N2B-patch"…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/nose2brain-active-substances-without-detour-through-nose-brain
Article - 10/06/2021 New study: vaccine therapy for treating patients with chronic leukaemia Personalised peptide vaccination is expected to improve the treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. A research team from Tübingen has started a Phase I clinical trial with CLL patients who will undergo ibrutinib treatment. Other leukaemia sufferers as well as cancer patients in general are also expected to benefit in the long term.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/new-study-vaccine-therapy-treating-patients-chronic-leukaemia
Article - 31/05/2021 Tracking down tumour-associated pain in pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer comes along quietly: unnoticed for a long time, it often triggers excruciating pain as the tumour progresses. This pain is associated with cancer cells invading pancreatic nerves. Dr. Michael Hirth from Mannheim University Hospital has shed some light on the complex communication between cancer cells and nerve cells. His findings could eventually be used for personalised pain therapies.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/tracking-down-tumour-associated-pain-pancreatic-cancer
Press release - 26/05/2021 Memetis continues its path to become a technology leader in Shape Memory driven miniature valving – Fluid-o-Tech S.r.l. invests an undisclosed amount to support memetis’ growth and development The Deep-Tech Start-Up memetis GmbH from Germany, which produces the world’s most compact and lightest commercially available valves driven by shape memory alloys, announces a new partnership with Fluid-o-Tech S.r.l., an Italian innovation and market leader in the field of fluid-pumps. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/memetis-continues-its-path-become-technology-leader-shape-memory-driven-miniature-valving-fluid-o-tech-srl-invests-undisclosed-a
Press release - 25/05/2021 From harmless skin bacteria to dreaded pathogens The bacterium Staphylococcus epidermidisis primarily a harmless microbe found on the skin and in the noses of humans. Yet some strains of this species can cause infections – in catheters, artificial joints, heart valves, and in the bloodstream – which are difficult to treat. These bacteria are often resistant to a particularly effective antibiotic, methicillin, and are among the most feared germs in hospitals.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/harmless-skin-bacteria-dreaded-pathogens
Press release - 25/05/2021 How “paralyzed” immune cells can be reactivated against brain tumors Brain tumor cells with a certain common mutation reprogram invading immune cells. This leads to the paralysis of the body's immune defense against the tumor in the brain. Researchers from Heidelberg, Mannheim, and Freiburg discovered this mechanism and at the same time identified a way of reactivating the paralyzed immune system to fight the tumor.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/how-paralyzed-immune-cells-can-be-reactivated-against-brain-tumors
Vaccine development - 25/05/2021 Vaccines - a beacon of hope in the fight against pandemics Having long been considered less lucrative for the big pharmaceutical companies, vaccine development is taking off in an unforeseen way in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Financial support is flooding in and all kinds of vaccine development strategies are being deployed. Among the winners in the competition for effective coronavirus vaccines are vaccines based on RNA technology.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/vaccines-beacon-hope-fight-against-pandemics
Signal mechanisms in inflammatory processes - 18/05/2021 Newly discovered substances activate the inflammasome in macrophages Low-grade chronic inflammation caused by components of the innate immune system may increase the risk of developing a variety of diseases in the long term. In their search for the signalling mechanisms underlying these inflammatory processes, Prof. Dr. Olaf Groß' research group at the Freiburg University Medical Centre discovered new active substances with immunostimulatory properties that may open up additional possibilities in cancer…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/newly-discovered-substances-activate-inflammasome-macrophages
Press release - 17/05/2021 New findings in genome research The working group around Dr. Philipp Rathert at the Institute for Biochemistry and Technical Biochemistry investigates the regulation of epigenetic networks of certain cancers and ways of treating them. The working group published its new findings in April. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/new-findings-genome-research
Article - 29/04/2021 Nanobodies for determining neutralising antibodies after corona infection After contact with a pathogen, ideally our immune system generates neutralising antibodies to prevent a future infection. With NeutrobodyPlex, scientists from Reutlingen and Tübingen have developed a highly specific test procedure based on single-domain antibodies (nanobodies) that can be used to easily and reliably determine the quality of the immune response against the novel coronavirus.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/nanobodies-determining-neutralising-antibodies-after-corona-infection
Press release - 21/04/2021 Atriva Therapeutics to Speed up Development of COVID-19 Drug with Federal Funding Atriva Therapeutics GmbH, a company that is pioneering the development of therapies for the treatment of viral infections, has secured up to €11.4 million in federal funding. The company, founded in 2015, announced today that it was selected for research funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Atriva will use the funds to advance its drug ATR-002 towards market maturity as quickly as possible.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/atriva-therapeutics-kann-dank-foerdermitteln-covid-19-medikament-schneller-entwickeln
Press release - 14/04/2021 Engineering T cells for cancer therapy efficiently and safely Genetically enhancing a patient's immune cells by adding therapeutic genes to them outside the body is regarded as a promising new treatment approach in oncology. However, the production of these therapeutic cells using viruses is not only expensive but time-consuming. Researchers at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have developed an innovative non-viral vector that can efficiently introduce therapeutic genes into immune cells. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/engineering-t-cells-cancer-therapy-efficiently-and-safely