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.

Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative diseases are associated with inflammatory processes in the brain. German researchers have succeeded in identifying a group of proteins in the liquor that could provide information about such inflammatory processes. As so-called biomarkers, the proteins could help to better understand disease processes in the future and to test the effect of potential drugs against brain inflammation.

Today, genome editing is almost as easy as programming software. However, the generation of viral vectors as initial material is still associated with many expensive and error-prone handling procedures. Viruses are generated via complex biological processes that have to be optimised virus-specifically in order to produce high-quality therapeutics. A new method is needed that simplifies and optimises these processes.

Metastatic breast cancer requires complex and lengthy treatment, the side effects of which affect the quality of life of patients. These often include sexual problems. In a large international randomized exercise intervention trial, researchers have now shown that women who received a nine-month supervised exercise program reported significantly fewer symptoms than women who did not participate in the training program.

Article - 18/03/2019

EHR and PHR: digital records in the German healthcare system

EHRs, i.e. electronic health records (German: Patientenakte, ePA), are hailed as the key to increasing the quality of care. The Appointment Service and Supply Act (TSVG), adopted on 14th March 2019, requires the German statutory health insurance funds to provide policyholders with electronic health records from 1st January 2021 onwards.

Dossier - 21/05/2013

No new drugs to be placed on the market without clinical trials

New pharmaceuticals are subject to approval by drug authorities. Here clinical trials are performed to ensure the quality efficacy and safety of a medicinal product. Clinical development is a time-consuming and costly process and takes on average ten to fifteen years before a pharmaceutical company can apply for the approval of the drug. The costs including failures can amount to approximately one billion US dollars per drug.

In the 2022 allocation round for the award of the prestigious Consolidator Grants of the European Research Council, researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have been successful. For their projects in the fields of photovoltaics and medical sensor technology, physicist Ulrich W. Paetzold and chemist Frank Biedermann will receive approximately two million euros over the next five years.

A phase I clinical trial is now starting at Tuebingen University Hospital in the Clinical Collaboration Unit (CCU) Translational Immunology, in collaboration with the Department of Internal Medicine I, which is investigating the therapeutic cancer peptide vaccine Fusion-VAC-XS15 in combination with immune checkpoint blockade by atezolizumab (Tecentriq®).

HealthCare Royalty to purchase royalties from worldwide sales of Telix Pharmaceuticals’ imaging diagnostic agent ZircaixTM (TLX250-CDx) Heidelberg Pharma is eligible to receive up to USD 115 million in three near-term tranches Cumulative royalties sold are capped at a maximum value

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…

Germany's most important award for young scientists honors the development of immunotherapies against malignant brain tumors.

Dossier - 17/01/2017

Phytopharmaceuticals – fighting disease with natural substances

Phytopharmaceuticals are herbal medicines whose efficacy is down to one or several plant substances or active ingredients. They have been used for treating diseases since time immemorial. This traditional knowledge is still the basis for many medicinal products made from plants or parts thereof. Herbal medicines have been produced in Baden-Württemberg for many generations.

Researchers from the University of Heidelberg have published a study on more than 60,000 patients in the renowned journal Lancet Digital Health, demonstrating the potential of AI in cardiac medicine.

At the University Hospital Tübingen, clinical evaluation of an in-house developed vaccine (CoVac-1) against SARS-CoV-2 was started in November 2020 under the direction of Prof. Dr. Juliane Walz in the CCU Translational Immunology of the Medical Clinic (Medical Director Prof. Dr. Helmut Salih). Now the results of the Phase I study are available and demonstrate a potent activation of the T-cell response against the coronavirus.

In order to develop approaches for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's dementia in clinical trials, it would be helpful to be able to identify people with a particularly high risk of developing the disease. But which biomarkers can indicate an increased likelihood of disease early on in symptom-free people who actually develop Alzheimer's later?

Health Data Futures project - 11/01/2024

Creating a network of trust

In the three-nation project "Health Data Futures", stakeholders and experts from Germany, France and Switzerland have launched a series of patient-centred innovations. Using various future scenarios, the project partners may be able to come up with even more scenarios.

Antibodies can improve the rehabilitation of people with acute spinal cord injury. Researchers at 13 clinics in Germany, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Spain have investigated this with promising results. For the first time, it was possible to identify patient groups that displayed a clinically relevant treatment effect. A follow-up study will start in December 2024.

High-tech - 20/10/2016

Industry 4.0 in the medical technology and pharmaceutical industry sectors

The digitalisation of industry affects the entire value chain. From individual products to digitising workflows in companies and connecting companies with clients and service providers via the Internet of Things – Industry 4.0 makes completely new manufacturing processes possible and requires new and specific business models.

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.

The Medical Faculty Heidelberg of Heidelberg University and Mannheim University of Applied Sciences are combining their expertise in infectious disease research, mass spectrometry, and bioinformatics to overcome resistance in malaria vectors. The project is supported by funding from the Gates Foundation.

The “Digital Integration and Innovation in Surgery” project aims to promote the transfer of new findings and research results into practice. The School of Informatics at Reutlingen University will work together with Furtwangen University, BioMedTech e.V., University Hospital Tübingen and other stakeholders to examine how intelligent digital assistance systems can contribute to improved patient care during surgical procedures.

What a success for Ulm University and its medical centre! The German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft; DFG) extends the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) on Trauma Medicine for the second time. The third funding phase infuses the CRC 1149 'Danger Response, Disturbance Factors and Regenerative Potential after Acute Trauma' with 11.1 million euros.

Dossier - 18/06/2012

Biobanks treasure chests for biomedical research

The Research Committee at the German Bundestag, the Office of Technology Assessment at the German Bundestag and the German Ethics Council are all interested in this biomedical research tool, which is both necessary and meaningful. However, opinions with regard to the ethical, legal and technical approach to biobanks differ. Since March 2012 it has become absolutely clear that Germany will not pass a biobanking law during the current mandate.