Healthcare industry

Many cancers are difficult to treat with drugs because they are resistant to them. A research group at Heidelberg is investigating the molecular mechanisms of multidrug resistance and has the goal to improve the treatment of cancer patients.

Sometimes a few nanogrammes of toxin are all that is needed to kill someone. Prof. Dr. Dr. Klaus Aktories from the Institute of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacy at the University of Freiburg is investigating why some bacterial toxins are so extremely toxic. Together with his team of researchers Aktories has identified the molecular mechanism of action of Clostridium difficile toxins.

Researchers at the University of Stuttgart are leaders in the field of diagnosis and analysis of plant viruses. In a two-week Summer School the researchers imparted their knowledge to virologists from all over the world.

Dossier - 28/08/2008

Orphan drugs: medicine for the treatment of severe diseases

Orphan drugs are drugs for the treatment of rare but severe diseases. Since the number of patients who need such drugs is very small the pharmaceutical industry has naturally been reluctant to develop drugs for the treatment of rare diseases. Therefore the development off orphan drugs is supported by the state including a simplified approval procedure and an exclusive right to sell them for a period of ten years.

Professor Dr. Günther Schützs work on the cell- and development-specific gene regulation using nuclear receptors has led amongst other things to new insights into the steroid hormone-dependent early development and differentiation of the nervous system the molecular mechanisms of learning and the development and regulation of drug addiction. Schütz has now been appointed Helmholtz professor which will enable him to continue his work beyond…

Proteins that are involved in the development of an organism must be activated at the right time and then inactivated if no longer required. Scientists in Tübingen investigate the specific degradation of these proteins through specialised and highly selective systems of the cell.

The primary objective of greenovation Biotech GmbH is the implementation of a stable production platform for the manufacture of glycoproteins for industrial pharmaceutical applications in accordance with GMP guidelines. Now Gregor Mirow succeeds Hans Bodo Hartmann as the new managing director.

The Lake Constance region offers a broad range of cancer therapies and is home to several institutes and companies that are dealing with cancer research. The BioLAGO biotechnology network offers them a joint platform for co-operation and exchange of information.

Article - 25/08/2008

Markers that reveal the correct biological age

Researchers at the University of Ulm have just identified a number of proteins that reveal the biological age of a person. These biomarkers might be used in medical applications to adapt the medical treatment of older people to their individual biological age.

Heidenheim-based Hartmann Group further accelerated its growth in the first six months of 2008. The company reports a growth in sales revenues to 678.5 million euros up 7.4 and increased its consolidated operating net income by 22.1 to 22.5 million euros. The greatest growth was achieved by the Operating Theatre Management segment.

Renal cell carcinoma is a rare disease. In addition, the disease is difficult to treat, and the majority of pharmaceutical companies find the development of new drugs for its treatment too financially risky. Their argument: the market is too small to make up for the high development costs. The Tübingen biotech company immatics was courageous enough to do so and will now be rewarded. The immatics scientists have developed a therapy that not only…

Cytonet GmbH & Co. KG, Germany’s leading cell therapy company, has provided the first clear evidence for the efficacy of its liver cell therapy in severe congenital metabolic disorders of newborns. The study was conducted in cooperation with the University Children’s Hospital in Heidelberg.

Boehringer Ingelheim has increased its sales revenues to 5.52 billion euros which after consolidation in euro was 2.1. The companys operating income of 900 million euros decreased by about 10 to 899 million euros.

Worldwide less than 10000 people suffer from Gauchers disease which is the most common lysosomal storage disease. Genzyme has been offering the drug Cerezyme for the treatment of this rare genetic disease since 1994. The companys subsidiary in Constance markets and sells this enzyme replacement therapy in Europe and Asia. The active substance is produced in Chinese hamster ovary cell cultures.

Nycomed agreed with Bayer Schering Pharma on the sale of the preclinical anti-cancer program. The agreement is part of Nycomeds strategic decision not to further invest in oncology RD activities.

Researchers at the University Hospital in Ulm are investigating whether patients genotypes interfere with the effect and tolerability of specific cancer medicaments. This might help to estimate how patients respond to the therapy a certain EGF-R inhibitor.

For the first time ever a team from Heidelberg will participate in the renowned iGEM competition. A student team under the direction of Dr. Roland Eils is developing a biological machine that recognises and specifically kills pathogens or tumour cells.

Some scientists have their career path totally mapped out from the beginning not so Prof. Dr. Regine Peschka-Süss from the University of Freiburg. She takes the time to re-assess whether she is on the right track and if necessary makes changes. Peschka-Süss is currently working on the optimisation of carriers for gene therapeutic compounds.

More than 50 of recombinant proteins are altered while they are being synthesized in the cells sometimes once and sometimes several times. Experts call these alterations post-translational modifications.

The medical importance of vitamin D calciferol is most likely even higher than suggested by recently published studies. A study which also involves the endocrinologist Bernhard Böhm from Ulm has attracted enormous attention as it suggests that vitamin D deficiency increases mortality.

Article - 18/08/2008

The art of not getting trapped

The glandular trichomes of the South African plant Roridula gorgonias release an extremely adhesive secretion that traps insects. Researchers from Stuttgart have now discovered what enables mirid bugs to live on the adhesive flytrap without becoming trapped.

In contrast to the USA human granulocytic anaplasmosis infection rarely occurs in Germany. Dr. Friederike von Loewenich at the Freiburg Institute for Medical Microbiology and Hygiene are investigating the reason for this discrepancy.

Claudia Friesen and her team of researchers from Ulm University discovered that methadone an agent used as a replacement-opiate in heroin addicts is able to kill leukaemia cells that are resistant to chemotherapy and radiation.

Despite having thousands of applicable ideas and having set up his own company, Prof. Alfred Nordheim sees himself as a true basic scientist. At this year’s International Genetics Congress in Berlin, the director of the Interfaculty Institute of Cell Biology at the University of Tübingen was elected president of the International Genetics Federation (IGF).

The NMI Natural and Medical Sciences Institute in Reutlingen organised its biannual MEA conference from 8 to 11 July 2008. More than 200 developers and microelectrode array users from 18 countries came together in Reutlingen to present their latest developments and results.