Press release - 01/12/2020 Novel vaccine trial to activate T-cell responses against SARS-CoV-2 A Phase I clinical trial using a self-developed vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 was initiated today at the University Hospital of Tübingen. In contrast to the currently evaluated vaccine candidates against COVID-19, the vaccine CoVAC1, developed by the Department of Immunology (Director Prof. Hans-Georg Rammensee) at the University of Tübingen, aims specifically at the induction of a T-cell-mediated immune response against SARS-COV-2.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/Novel-vaccine-trial-to-activate-T-cell-responses-against-SARS-CoV-2
New method for analysing blood samples - 26/11/2020 Personalised therapy monitoring for malignant melanomas Immunotherapy has greatly improved the survival chances of patients with malignant melanoma. A study has now begun at the Department of Dermatology at the University Hospital of Tübingen to develop a way to monitor the course of treatment as effectively as possible. It involves personalised monitoring using liquid biopsies in addition to conventional PET/CT examinations. This analysis procedure of blood samples could enable closer monitoring of…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/personalised-therapy-monitoring-malignant-melanomas
Inside the fight against COVID-19 - 28/10/2020 A new immunotherapeutic agent for treating severe COVID-19 cases Apogenix, a Heidelberg-based biopharmaceutical company specialising in innovative immunotherapeutics, has initiated a Phase II clinical trial with asunercept, the company’s lead drug candidate for treating severe cases of COVID-19. The fusion protein blocks the CD95-ligand-mediated death of epithelial cells in the lung and thus prevents damage to the organ.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/new-immunotherapeutic-agent-treating-severe-covid-19-cases
Intestinal peptide heals lung - 14/10/2020 Inhalation of intestinal hormone VIP helps against immunotherapy-induced pneumonia If cancer patients develop pneumonitis, an inflammation of the lungs resulting from immunotherapy, their symptoms and restrictions in lung function can often only be alleviated with cortisone. Researchers led by Prof. Dr. Joachim Müller-Quernheim and Dr. Björn Frye from the Freiburg University Medical Centre have been able to cure a patient's pneumonitis by inhalation of a long-known neuropeptide.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/inhalation-intestinal-hormone-vip-helps-against-immunotherapy-induced-pneumonia
Innovative Therapies - 20/08/2020 Labor Dr. Merk is fully committed to viral therapies Labor Dr. Merk & Kollegen is reorienting its business towards viral therapeutics. With this change of strategy, the company, which has decades of expertise in virology, wants to position itself in a timely fashion in the growing new market for advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMP). In gene and virotherapies (oncolytic viruses), tumour vaccines and CAR-T cell therapies, viruses are essential as vectors, killers of tumour cells or…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/labor-dr-merk-fully-committed-viral-therapies
Review article (new edition) - 08/07/2020 Immunology – at the forefront of medical progress Immunology is constantly changing with the emergence of new technologies and areas of application, and has branched out in many directions. Immunological approaches are central to everything – be it the development of innovative active substances and vaccinations against cancer, the search for new therapies against neurodegenerative diseases or autoimmune diseases, or combatting well-known infectious diseases or new virus epidemics.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/immunology-forefront-medical-progress
Affimed GmbH - 01/07/2020 "Innate cell engagers" to fight cancer In the fight against tumour cells, d Affimed GmbH from Heidelberg relies entirely on the weapons of the innate immune system. Affimed has developed special innate cell engagers, which are bispecific antibodies that recognise tumour cells and bring them together with natural killer cells and macrophages of the innate immune system, which then kill the tumour cells. Clinical trials using the AFM13 molecule are ongoing.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/innate-cell-engager-fighting-against-cancer
Vaccine development - 02/06/2020 CureVac as a pioneer of mRNA technology – what is behind the novel COVID-19 vaccine? All eyes are on vaccines against the coronavirus. The Tübingen-based company CureVac is doing pioneering work in this field, and intends to initiate clinical testing of its lead vaccine candidate in June. At the same time, Curevac is manufacturing the material for this vaccine candidate. But that’s not all: the novel mRNA technology also has the potential to revolutionise the treatment of cancer and metabolic diseases. What makes the method so…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/curevac-als-pionier-der-mrna-technologie-was-steckt-hinter-dem-neuartigen-covid-19-impfstoff
Translational oncology - 26/05/2020 Translation: driver of cancer medicine The fight against cancer is a pressing issue. Although technological advances in the treatment, prevention and early detection of cancer have improved over the past few decades, the number of people affected is increasing. Cancer medicine now wants to counteract this by joining forces with other players involved in the field. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/translation-driver-cancer-medicine
Press release - 11/03/2020 Company Founder Ingmar Hoerr Succeeds Daniel Menichella as CEO of CureVac AG CureVac AG, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering the field of mRNA-based drugs, today announced that company founder and Chairman of the Supervisory Board Ingmar Hoerr is replacing Daniel Menichella in his function as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/Company-Founder-Ingmar-Hoerr-Succeeds-Daniel-Menichella-as-CEO-of-CureVac-AG
Article - 22/10/2019 Using CAR T cells for treating cancer After successes in the treatment of advanced blood cancers, CAR T-cell immunotherapy has become a major beacon of hope in oncology. The first therapies have received regulatory approval. Despite their success, these immunotherapies can have serious side effects. The company AVA Lifescience develops antibodies with high tumour specificity to use as the basis for effective precision-guided CAR T-cell therapies that are better tolerated by patients.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/using-car-t-cells-for-treating-cancer
New edition - 24/05/2019 Tumour metastasis Cancer is usually not curable when metastases have formed in the body. Metastases are often resistant to drugs that have successfully eliminated the primary tumour. The basic features of the complex process of metastasis are now known, but many details still remain elusive. Intensive research activities are focusing on new therapeutic concepts aimed at developing effective anti-metastatic therapies.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/tumour-metastasis
Press release - 27/08/2018 Affimed Announces Collaboration with Genentech to Develop Novel NK Cell Engager-based Immunotherapeutics for Multiple Cancer Targets Affimed will receive $96 million upfront and committed funding and is eligible for up to an additional $5.0 billion including milestone payments, and royalties on sales.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/affimed-announces-collaboration-with-genentech-to-develop-novel-nk-cell-engager-based-immunotherapeutics-for-multiple-cancer-tar
Article - 18/01/2018 Medications that target metastasing tumours Tumour metastases are often resistant to the drug that is used to eliminate the primary tumour. Genome-wide analyses of mutation patterns in the primary tumour and its metastases provide information on the aggressiveness of cancer and may help to find the best available means of further treatment. This has been demonstrated by scientists from Heidelberg in a clinical trial on the molecular evolution of renal cancer.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/medications-that-target-metastasing-tumours
Article - 18/10/2017 Testing a new antibody therapy for treating blood cancer The fight against acute myeloid leukaemia is a long one. Cancer cells that cause the disease to recur may remain despite initially successful destruction of the tumour with chemotherapy drugs. Now researchers from Tübingen have identified an antibody that could potentially prevent cancer recurrence.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/testing-a-new-antibody-therapy-for-treating-blood-cancer
Article - 24/07/2017 Cancer medicine development as a science and industry partnership The German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and Bayer AG are collaborating on a strategic partnership focusing on the development of innovative cancer therapies. The two partners have developed an active substance which selectively blocks a mutation of a metabolic enzyme that occurs in certain types of cancer. The substance has been successfully tested in preclinical studies and is now also being tested in a clinical trial on patients with brain…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/cancer-medicine-development-as-a-science-and-industry-partnership
Article - 26/06/2017 Hope for mRNA vaccines despite damper The pressure is on to develop novel vaccines based on messenger RNA and aimed at combating cancer and protecting against pandemics. Although mRNA vaccination as a cancer monotherapy has suffered a setback this year, the industry is nevertheless confident that it will succeed because of existing proof that mRNA vaccines stimulate the body's immune defence.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/hope-for-mrna-vaccines-despite-damper
Press release - 14/12/2016 amcure Raises €6 Million in Series B Financing and Expands Advisory Board Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen – 14 December 2016: amcure, a biopharmaceutical company developing first-in-class cancer therapeutics, today announced the closing of a Series B financing round amounting to a total of EUR 6 million.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/amcure-raises-6-million-in-series-b-financing-and-expands-advisory-board
Article - 05/09/2016 Apogenix: immuno-oncological protein drugs for the treatment of malignant diseases Apogenix AG, a biopharmaceutical company from Heidelberg that specialises in immuno-oncology, develops protein drugs that target central signalling pathways involved in regulating the growth, migration and apoptosis of malfunctioning cells and thus offer novel treatment options for cancer and other malignant diseases.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/apogenix-immunonkologische-proteinwirkstoffe-gegen-maligne-erkrankungen
Article - 22/08/2016 Ad-O-Lytics – a new biotech start-up from Ulm A few years ago, Florian Kreppel developed a therapeutic approach that combined genetic vaccines with molecular address labels. It worked quite well, but the resulting product did not have the anticipated immunising properties and was put on the backburner. Now Kreppel's group of researchers is nearing completion of another project. The researchers plan to use a patented virotherapeutic platform technology for cancer treatment to establish a…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/ad-o-lytics-a-new-biotech-start-up-from-ulm
Article - 19/07/2016 Licence to kill – the enormous potential of CAR T cells With 6 million euros of EU funding, the CARAT project aims to optimise a technology called CAR T that is used to equip T cells with antibody fragments and specifically direct them to destroy cancer cells. The CARAT consortium comprises a multinational team of experts from the Institute for Cell- and Gene Therapy at the Freiburg University Medical Center led by Prof. Dr. Toni Cathomen and seven partner institutions. Cathomen’s team is developing…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/licence-to-kill-the-enormous-potential-of-car-t-cells
Article - 11/07/2016 The toxin of natural killer cells Natural killer cells kill tumour cells by injecting the protein HMGB1, which blocks the production of cellular energy by aerobic respiration. Researchers from Heidelberg have elucidated this previously unknown cancer defence mechanism and are now in the process of developing a new immunotherapy for treating cancer patients.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/the-toxin-of-natural-killer-cells
Article - 20/06/2016 Activation of the innate immune system against metastatic colorectal cancer Researchers from Heidelberg have shown that instead of fighting cancer cells, macrophages of the innate immune system promote the growth of metastases in people with metastatic colorectal cancer. They have also shown that a signal inhibitor used to treat HIV infections reactivates macrophages so that they gain the ability to destroy cancer cells. A clinical phase I study has confirmed the antitumoral effects of this drug.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/activation-of-the-innate-immune-system-against-metastatic-colorectal-cancer
Press release - 26/08/2015 Immatics Biotechnologies GmbH - new alliances and launch of Immatics US, Inc. MorphoSys and Immatics Biotechnologies Enter Strategic Alliance in Immuno-oncology. Furthermore Immatics and MD Anderson announce launch of Immatics US, Inc., to develop multiple T-cell and TCR-based adoptive cellular therapies.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/immatics-biotechnologies-gmbh-new-alliances-and-launch-of-immatics-us-inc
Article - 20/07/2015 Liver cell carcinoma: reducing tumour burden – increasing life expectancy Liver cell carcinoma or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most malignant human cancers. The disease arises from chronic damage to the liver, usually caused by virus- or alcohol-related liver cirrhoses. Liver tumours are considered difficult to treat, but there is evidence that they actually trigger an immune response in the body. Prof. Dr. Robert Thimme from Freiburg University Medical Centre is seeking to understand this effect and…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/liver-cell-carcinoma-reducing-tumour-burden-increasing-life-expectancy