Healthcare industry

The database health industry of BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg GmbH lists concise profiles of biotech-, medtech and pharma companies in Baden-Württemberg. The database includes companies, that are involved in research, development and/or production. The "free text search" option allows you to search in all profiles and data. You may, however, also limit your search to specific categories. The categorization of the companies is carried out by…

Baden-Württemberg, the state of inventors and thinkers, is one of the leading economic regions in Germany and Europe thanks to an economic landscape that incorporates many small- and medium-sized businesses. The state’s innovative strength is partly based on the scientific excellence of university and non-university research institutions and innovative companies, and partly on its attractiveness as a base for creating and developing companies.…

Article - 26/09/2011

A close look at individual membrane receptors

The majority of research groups around the world working on membrane receptors are concentrating on the interactions between the receptors and the signalling molecules in the interior of cells and each individual receptor tends to be seen as a black box. The independent research group led by junior professor Dr. Maximilian Ulbrich of the BIOSS excellence cluster at the University of Freiburg has developed a high-resolution real-time method for…

Article - 19/05/2014

Alcoholism: the molecular basis of addiction and deprivation

Scientists at the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim use rats and mice to study the genetic basis and neurobiological mechanisms of alcohol addiction, the changes that occur during alcohol deprivation and the factors that favour a relapse. In translational research, the results from animal experiments are reviewed using alcohol-dependent patients in order to turn them quickly into preventive strategies and therapies.

Article - 02/07/2012

amcure GmbH is working on a new compound against pancreatic cancer

amcure GmbH has identified a new compound with a new efficacy profile against pancreatic cancer. Animal experiments have shown promising results: the drug candidate successfully prevents tumour growth and destroys existing metastases. The company, which was spun out from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in 2011, is now working on its first financing round and is looking for new investors. At the same time it is carefully planning its…

Somatic cell nuclear transfer or reprogramming of somatic cells into a near embryonic state - it is now expected that stem cell experts rate their findings in the field of stem cell research. What can be called a breakthrough? What is the scientific value?

Article - 16/12/2013

An RNA switch for protein mutations

RNA is a family of biological molecules with multiple roles, including the transmission of information and the catalysis of chemical reactions in a similar way to enzyme action. Ribozymes (ribonucleic acid enzymes) of this kind function for example within the ribosome where they link amino acids during protein synthesis. Professor Jörg Hartig from the University of Konstanz has developed a new ribozyme-based method that enables him to control the…

Article - 13/02/2012

Almut Köhler – cadherin-mediated cell adhesion and dispersion

Cadherins ensure that cells within tissues are bound together. However this is only one side of the coin. Dr. Almut Köhler from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT and her group of researchers are investigating a cadherin type that is even able to actively promote cell migration in developing frog brains and tumour tissue.

Article - 20/04/2009

Anita Ignatius makes biomaterials smart

Anita Ignatius is not interested in knowledge just for the sake of knowledge. “I have always been interested in the practical application of knowledge,” said the 45-year-old veterinarian. Highly theoretical courses she had to attend during her studies put an end to her dreams of opening her own practice after university. But this experience also had its advantages, because it helped her realise what she really wanted – namely doing research of…

Article - 04/10/2011

Cell biologist to be awarded first “Distinguished Guest Professorship“ in Tübingen

Every year for the next three years, the Russian molecular biologist and medical doctor Prof. Dr. Peter M. Chumakov is to spend one to two weeks researching and lecturing at the University of Tübingen. This special form of international exchange is being funded for three years by the Baden-Württemberg government with the aim of strengthening Tübingen’s competence through cooperation with distinguished scientists from other universities.

Article - 18/03/2011

Allergen research – present and future

An allergy is a hypersensitivity disorder of the immune system. It is an exaggerated immune reaction to external stimuli such as pollen and is associated with symptoms that range in degree from uncomfortable (hay fever, asthma) to life-threatening (anaphylactic shock). Dr. Thomas Bethke, Medical Director of Nycomed Germany, explains in the following interview how a drug manufacturer approaches the research and development of anti-allergy…

Article - 12/11/2012

Autoimmune diseases – when the body sheds its skin

Most people believe that snakes and insects are the only animals able to shed their skin. However autoimmune diseases of the largest human organ i.e. the skin can have a similar effect by creating blisters scars peeling and wet wounds. Dr. Cassian Sitaru from the University of Freiburg Medical Centre specifically focuses on blistering autoimmune dermatoses. Using disease models in Petri dishes and laboratory mice Sitaru and his team hope to find…

Article - 17/03/2014

Bacterial toxins manipulate proteins that serve as signalling switches in the host cell

The enterobacterial species Photorhabdus asymbiotica und luminescens live in symbiosis with predatory nematodes that infest insect larvae and feed on their victims. The bacteria wait in the worms gut until their symbiotic partner has crept into the larvae then they are released and kill the insect with an ingenious toxin cocktail. Researchers in the team led by Professor Aktories and Dr. Thomas Jank recently discovered a mechanism of one of the…

In his profession age and experience are decisive advantages Dr. Mohamed Baccouche 57 consults pharmaceutical companies worldwide on the development and approval of new drug substances.

A consortium of two universities two applied research institutes and a research-based pharmaceutical company is looking for innovative cellular models of the human heart with the aim of developing better methods for drug testing.

Article - 17/08/2009

A kiss of death for cells

Prof. Dr. Peter Krammer of the German Cancer Research Centre has considerably contributed to clarifying the apoptotic signalling pathways in both normal and malignant cells. In addition he has developed new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of those diseases that are the result of defective apoptosis regulation.

Article - 29/09/2014

Andrei Lupas – fascination for the complex world of proteins

Prof. Dr. Andrei Lupas is a molecular biologist and director of the Department of Protein Evolution at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Developmental Biology in Tübingen. He became fascinated by the incredible complexity of proteins early on during his scientific career. His work focuses on the use of laboratory and computational methods to solve the question as to how a simple amino acid chain becomes a protein ‘nanomachine’. Lupas and his…

Article - 19/08/2013

Brain mapping – ‘eavesdropping’ on the brain

Although numerous scientists have spent decades exploring the brain and many things are already known the brain is still considered one of the greatest mysteries of science. While structural elements such as cell and axon distribution can only be mapped post mortem motor and sensory functions can only be studied in vivo i.e. using living organisms. Dr. Tonio Ball and his colleagues at the BrainLinks-BrainTools cluster of excellence at the…

Article - 16/05/2011

Autophagy - recycling and survival

Cells degrade components that are no longer needed and return them to the cellular metabolism. Dr. Jörn Dengjel and his team from the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies FRIAS are aiming to decipher the molecular and cell biological mechanisms of this recycling process which is also known as autophagy or autophagocytosis. Detailed insights into these mechanisms will also help to improve the researchers understanding of diseases such as cancer…

Article - 24/05/2010

Alternative CAM: chicken eggs to precede mouse experiments

Researchers who test whether in vitro results can be transferred to living organisms prefer to use mice rats or rabbits. Many questions can be answered using the chorioallantoic membrane CAM of fertilised chicken eggs an alternative model to animal experiments that provides rapid results and only costs 50 cents per egg.

Article - 18/02/2013

AIDS researchers from Ulm to shed light on the success of the HIV-1 M group

Frank Kirchhoff AIDS researcher at the University of Ulm has come up with a plausible explanation for the pandemic spread of the human immunodeficiency virus 1 HIV-1 M group and its ability to adapt to the human immune system. In a recent study with colleagues from Germany and abroad Kirchhoff used molecular biology methods to investigate the group and compare it with the relatively rare HIV-1 N group. Kirchhoff hopes that the molecular…

Article - 08/07/2013

Christine Goffinet: independent and successful AIDS researchers

Christine Goffinet, 36, from the Institute of Molecular Virology at the University of Ulm has already received numerous awards for her research on AIDS. She was recently awarded a scholarship for postdoctoral lecture qualification under the Margarete von Wrangell Habilitation Programme. However, before she became a virologist, Goffinet chose a career path that was quite different from the standard career path seen on many scientific CVs.

Article - 12/05/2014

Automatic tracking of biological particles

Scientists at the BioQuant centre in Heidelberg have developed an automatic particle tracking method that can be used for time-resolved two- and three-dimensional microscope image data. This powerful computational method achieved the best overall result in an international competition that compared different methods for the quantitative tracking of the position of moving biological particles.

There are only a few signalling pathways that have been as well conserved during evolution as the Notch signalling pathway. This is due to the pathways unique biological function. Notch enables two identical cells to develop into completely different tissues. Anette Preiß professor at the University of Hohenheim has been working on the function of the Notch signalling pathway for almost 20 years.

Article - 14/02/2011

Affimed’s novel TandAb® antibodies enter clinical development phase

With the initiation in October 2010 of a Phase I (“first in man”) study of the tetravalent, bispecific antibody AFM13 based on its proprietary TandAb® technology, Heidelberg-based Affimed Therapeutics AG has become a clinical drug development company.