Healthcare industry

Article - 17/02/2009

Tissue engineering companies and EU obstacles

With the new regulation on advanced therapy medicinal products the European Union has tried to establish legal certainty with regard to gene therapy somatic cell therapy and tissue engineering products. However Dr. Heinz W. Joseph of TETEC AG is sure that the new guidelines will lead to problems for small and medium-sized companies.

Article - 17/02/2009

Genes and epigenetic mechanisms

The different cell types in a multicellular organism contain the same genome but differ from each other dramatically in both function and structure nerve cells kidney cells etc.. The differentiation of the cells is linked to the identity of their precursors. This then raises the question If the cells destiny is not encoded in the DNA how do they know what to become? The new director of the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology in Freiburg…

Press release - 14/02/2009

Wound dressings with drug depots

In Germany alone an estimated four million patients require treatment for chronic wounds annually. A wound dressing developed by the Hohenstein Institute in Bönnigheim in cooperation with the Society for the Promotion of Medical Biological and Environmental Technologies in Dresden could pave the way for new treatment strategies.

Press release - 14/02/2009

Small but effective first aider

In Germany alone around 100000 people per year suffer from sudden cardiac arrest which frequently occurs as a result of cardiac infarction serious injuries following an accident or electric shock. The job of first aiders is often impeded by the fact that it is difficult to correctly diagnose the disorder. A new first-aid sensor is now able to quickly provide information about the cardiovascular state of the injured person

Press release - 12/02/2009

ratiopharm increases sales and cuts jobs

Despite a worldwide sales increase of 5 percent in 2008 ratiopharm will cut 600 jobs including 200 in Germany.

Article - 10/02/2009

Janine Reis – improving the acquisition of motor skills

Putting a teaspoon of sugar into a cup of coffee would appear to be a very trivial action. However the coordination of hand and fingers becomes a virtually insurmountable challenge for people who have suffered a stroke. Dr. Janine Reis assistant doctor and researcher in the Department of Neurology at the Freiburg Medical School is investigating ways to improve the acquisition of fine motor skills.

Article - 09/02/2009

Bodo Philipp – the discovery of the general principles of bacterial interaction

Dr. Bodo Philipp from the University of Constance specifically focuses on ecologically relevant activities of bacteria for example cell-cell interactions. His findings could prove effective in removing bacteria from areas where high levels of hygiene are required thereby making it possible to prevent life-threatening bacterial infectious diseases. Dr. Bodo Philipp uses the much feared Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria as model organisms for his…

Press release - 09/02/2009

Audacious ideas and space for high risk research

Reinhart Koselleck project awarded to Margit Zacharias, professor of nanotechnology at Freiburg University

Article - 09/02/2009

All Hans Kiefer wants is pure proteins

Hans Kiefer 47 is one of only a handful of scientists at German universities who focus on the purification of proteins which is a topic of great interest to biopharmaceutical manufacturers.

Article - 05/02/2009

Cutting off the supply of nutrients and oxygen to tumours

Is it possible to cut cancer cells off from the supply infrastructure of the body and bring them to their knees? Dr. Jochen Rößlers research group from the Childrens Hospital at the Freiburg Medical School is investigating how tumours establish contacts with blood and lymph vessels and are hoping to find new ways of treating tumours.

Press release - 05/02/2009

Video portal on the Excellence Initiative

Making it possible to experience top-level research in Germany using multimedia is the aim of the new internet video portal on the Excellence Initiative launched by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG German Research Foundation on 19 January 2009.

Press release - 02/02/2009

Health research success – a new BMBF brochure

Sparking ideas, excellent research results and innovative products cannot be developed in just a few months. It often takes years or even decades for scientific findings to lead to marketable products or new treatment methods. The BMBF has published a new brochure that describes twelve outstanding successes achieved by BMBF-funded health research projects since 1978.

At present active immunotherapy seems to produce the best results in the treatment of cancer. The Tübingen-based biotech company CureVac is now hoping to achieve a breakthrough in cancer therapy with a worldwide unique vaccine. The first clinical trials have recently commenced.

Press release - 30/01/2009

BMELV and Baden-Württemberg combine their strengths in nutrition and food research

The German and Baden-Württemberg governments have declared their intention to work closer together in the field of nutritional research. The German Federal Minister of Nutrition, Ilse Aigner, and the Baden-Württemberg Science Minister, Professor Dr. Peter Frankenberg, have signed a framework agreement signalling their intention to support the collaboration between the Karlsruhe-based Max Rubner Institute (MRI) and universities and research…

Press release - 28/01/2009

Research on fish

Following the expansion of the fish facilities at the Institute of Toxicology and Genetics (ITG) in Karlsruhe, Germany, the researchers from Karlsruhe now have more than 8,000 fish tanks at their disposal for research purposes. The ITG researchers’ principal area of focus is the systematic analysis of key molecules in development and regeneration processes, which makes an important contribution to the BioInterfaces research programme of the…

Article - 27/01/2009

An important milestone for M-Scan GmbH

Despite only having been established in 2006, Freiburg-based M-Scan GmbH has already achieved an important milestone in its short history: M-Scan GmbH has recently been granted “Good Manufacturing Practice” (GMP) status which certifies that the company carries out analyses of biopharmaceuticals and chemical products in compliance with quality standards set by regulatory agencies. As a result, M-Scan GmbH is able to offer a service that has become…

Press release - 27/01/2009

Survey results show the biotech sector is cautiously optimistic

Despite the current financial crisis more than 90 of German biotech companies consider their current situation to be good 48 or satisfactory 43. So say the results of a survey carried out by the German Biotechnology Industry Organisation BIO Deutschland and the life sciences journal transkript.

Press release - 26/01/2009

immatics awarded Innovation Award of German Industry

immatics biotechnologies GmbH has been awarded the 29th German Industrys Innovation Award Innovationspreis der deutschen Wirtschaft in the Start-Up category. immatics was chosen for the award from a list of over 350 applicants covering all industry sectors. The jury consisted of renowned industry professionals and scientists.

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen Germany determined the structure of a protein L1ORF1p which is encoded by a parasitic genetic element and which is responsible for its mobility.

The German Research Foundation will fund the “Molecular Diabetology and Endocrinology in Medicine” research training group established at the University of Ulm in 2004 for another four and a half years. According to information from the University, the grant totalling about 2.4 million euros in funding will be used to finance 20 new posts.

Prey animals only become prey when a predator actually discovers and kills them. Dr. Nina Stobbe from the University of Freiburg has spent the last three years investigating the ability of moths to prevent predators from detecting them. Her doctoral thesis has shown that colour spots on the wings of butterflies conceal their bearers, in particular when arranged and structured in a specific way.

Article - 21/01/2009

Exalon GmbH – preparation of regulatory submission packages

Exalon GmbH, based in Radolfzell, Germany has two key principles that account for its success: always keep in contact with the public authorities and always know the right doors to knock on. The company, run as a team of three, Dr. Michael Braun, Sibylle Teuchmann and Michael Zingrebe, has been supporting life sciences companies and service providers in the electronic submission of applications for obtaining marketing authorisation for medicinal…

Press release - 20/01/2009

Germany Trade and Invest

Germany Trade and Invest is the new foreign trade and inward investment agency of the Federal Republic of Germany. Formed following the merger of the German Office for Foreign Trade and the Invest in Germany GmbH Germany Trade and Invests mission is to promote Germany as a location for industrial and technological investments and to identify investors for the German market.

Press release - 19/01/2009

Microchip that resembles a ‘ship in a bottle’

Occasionally, physicists like to use well-tried tricks to tinker with things, which is exactly what led scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Metals Research, the University of Stuttgart and the Colorado School of Mines to construct micromachines using the same technique that is used to put ships inside bottles. In the same way as masts and sails are folded to make the model ship small enough to fit through the neck of a bottle, the…

Press release - 16/01/2009

ESE goes from strength to strength

The measurement device manufacturer ESE is pulling out all the stops to cope with increased demand. Four clients have now extensively tested the ESE modules so that the company is now able to start their large-scale production. The space requirements required for the increase in capacity can only be met by moving into bigger premises.