Healthcare industry

On 20th November 2008 Tetec AG opened a new facility for the production of cartilage transplants. The company market leader and a subsidiary of B. Braun Melsungen AG based in Reutlingen is expanding its production capacities.

Schölly Fiberoptic GmbH based in the city of Denzlingen in the south of Germany has experienced rapid growth over the last few years with its endoscopic solutions. Over the last five years the company has doubled its revenues to 44 million euros per year.

Professor Giovanni Galizia from Constance is investigating the processing of odour cues. Together with other scientists Galizia has initiated a DFG research priority on olfactory processing in humans and animals.

Dossier - 20/11/2008

Anti-Ageing is still a far-off dream

Is it possible to halt the ageing process? This question was first raised in the 1980s when researchers succeeded in delaying the ageing process in threadworms by modifying a specific gene. Nowadays hundreds of gene mutations are known to prolong the lifespan of yeast fruit flies and mice. Will the human dream of eternal youth eventually become reality? The truth is probably not.

It runs and runs and is extremely successful The SFB 592 established in 2001 and entitled Signalling mechanisms in embryogenesis and organogenesis investigates the biological functions of different signalling pathways. Since its foundation the scientists of the SFB have published many excellent papers in highly renowned journals. Their work has been of such a high standard that the German Research Foundation DFG has decided to fund the…

Researchers from Heidelberg have discovered that certain oxygen compounds are produced in greater quantities in the body due to cancer or inflammation and that this leads to the alteration of a protein that controls the flexibility and adaptability of certain immune cells.

The Europe-wide MARK-AGE project involving scientists from 14 countries commenced on the 1st April 2008. Scientists have joined forces to investigate the factors involved in ageing. They are using standardised questionnaires and analysing data acquired from physical and biochemical examinations of the blood and urine from 3700 volunteers. The team of experts includes the medical expert Professor Alexander Bürkle and the mathematician Prof.…

Prof. Johannes Schropp and Gilbert Koch from the University of Constance are developing mathematical models for the pharmaceutical company Nycomed. These models examine the relationship between the concentration and the effect of administered drugs.

Hartmut Geiger a biochemist and stem cell researcher at Ulm University Hospital is using genetic methods to investigate the molecular basis of the physiological ageing of haematopoietic stem cells. After having spent a period in Cincinnati Geiger is currently head of the clinical research group Molecular and cellular ageing from the mechanisms of action to clinical perspectives.

Paul Hartmann AG signed an agreement to acquire Beiersdorf affiliate Bode Chemie GmbH Co. KG. Ownership is expected to transfer at the end of the year. The purchase agreement includes a long-term guarantee for the Hamburg location.

Cannabis intoxication is certainly not the original purpose of the cannabinoid receptors in the human brain. Nowadays there are known body substances which dock to the receptor molecules of nerve cells in a similar way to cannabis. A group of researchers led by pharmacologist Prof. Dr. med. Bela Szabo at the University of Freiburg is investigating the role of this molecular system in the human brain.

Thanks to the support of the Joachim Siebeneicher Foundation in Heidelberg the University Hospital of Heidelberg has been able to establish an endowed professorship for regenerative medicine. The professorship will start on 1st January 2009.

From informal gatherings to an association and since 1st July 2008 its own office in Constance the BioLAGO life sciences network at Lake Constance hopes that its new premises and organisational remodelling will help in the better and more comprehensive exploitation of the life sciences and biotechnology potential of the entire Lake Constance region.

For three days from 9 to 11 October more than 300 scientists from over 20 countries met at the Haus der Wirtschaft in Stuttgart to discuss the current state of research the latest product developments and therapies in regenerative medicine and stem cell research.

A consortium is providing funding for the development of Phenex drug candidates for type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Phenex will take its metabolic syndrome drug candidates into Phase I clinical testing by early 2010 at the latest.

Genedata AG has developed a modular software system known as Genedata Screener that is tailored to screening and hit-to-lead applications. Dr. Timo Wittenberg who works at the companys site in Constance Germany told us about the advantages of the software for identifying high-potential leads.

Prof. Karin Scharffetter-Kochanek has recently become a member of the renowned Leopoldina Academy of Sciences. In her research the skin has become a model system that serves as the basis for a trans-organ systemic approach looking at the underlying mechanisms and the complex interactions with other organs.

Sleep-related breathing problems can in the long term even lead to cardiac infarction or stroke. A new technology from TNI medical AG puts a stop to the discomforts of a mask by giving people a seminal solution.

Boehringer Ingelheims research cooperation with the two biotech companies Evotec and Orexo is making good progress. Swedish Orexo AB recently announced that it has extended its three-year research cooperation with Boehringer Ingelheim for another year up to November 2009.

SYGNIS Pharma AG announced that it has received a positive recommendation from the Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products of the European Medicines Agency for AX200 in the treatment of spinal cord injury.

Although the MedCare TechArea was not one of the five top clusters to recently receive an award from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research the cluster and its MedCare TechArea will be further developed.

In some types of spinocerebellar ataxia and spastic paraplegia the number of people affected is so small that the search for the causes of the disease seems to be an almost hopeless endeavour. Human geneticist Prof. Dr. Olaf Rieß and neurologist Prof. Dr. Ludger Schöls from the University Hospital Tübingen are now hoping to promote research and improve the medical treatment of such patients with the aid of two new European networks.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy DMD is a severe disease affecting boys characterised by rapid progression of muscle degeneration so that boys as young as 10 to 12 years of age have to use a wheelchair and leading to death in young men. In Germany about 2500 children and young adults suffer from DMD.

The Early Discovery department of the research-based pharmaceutical company Nycomed GmbH deals with early drug research from the identification of targets to the generation of lead structures. This process involves high-throughput drug screening. On behalf of www.bio-pro.de Michael Statnik talked with Dr. Stefanie Polej about the process of the automated analysis of molecule activities in the Constance-based company.

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…