Healthcare industry

Press release - 22/02/2010

AgenoLab GmbH: Improved quality of life for patients with chronic wounds

Since its foundation three years ago, AgenoLab GmbH & Co. KG in Stuttgart has become a leading service provider in the area of life sciences and biotechnology. The company’s cell culture technology unit focuses on the preparation of cells that can largely eliminate the need for animal testing. In the area of regenerative medicine, AgenoLab GmbH concentrates on the growth of skin cells as transplants for patients suffering from burns and…

Article - 22/02/2010

Immune system discovers mould fungi through surface structures

Mould fungus spores which are found in air aerosols are constantly being taken up in the air we inhale. As a rule this poses no danger to healthy people. However depending on the quantity of spores inhaled and the duration of exposure mould fungi could possibly lead or contribute to lung diseases and allergies. Dr. Mardas Daneshian and his team at the University of Constance are focusing on the immunostimulatory capacity of fungal spores. The…

Article - 11/02/2010

Johanna Schanz: Liver model as an alternative to animal experiments

Blood vessels of a piece of pig’s intestine are used as carrier material for the IGB’s liver model and the cells seeded on the blood vessels stem from human biopsies. Dr. Johanna Schanz from the Fraunhofer IGB used this combination to produce her doctoral thesis which led to impressive results: a functional system of blood vessels in a biological carrier structure. Schanz’s outstanding thesis results have led to the creation of a liver model for…

Article - 28/01/2010

Liver cell transplantation for the treatment of innate urea cycle defects

Liver transplantation is the only life-saving therapy available to patients suffering from genetic defects of the urea cycle. However, newborns cannot be transplanted with a donor liver. The injection of liver cell suspensions into the liver of sick babies through the portal vein can substitute the lack of enzyme activity, hence preventing brain damage until such time as liver transplantation becomes possible.

Article - 25/01/2010

Intelligent use of suitable biomarkers

How quickly does a pharmaceutical substance exert its effect? What mechanisms does it use to exert its effect on people and how long does it remain active? In a team headed by Prof. Dr. Martin Elmlinger Nycomed GmbH has developed an efficient biomarker discovery concept specially adapted to the companys requirements and designed to clarify such questions. The concept is specifically geared to the phases and requirements of the companys projects.…

Article - 14/12/2009

Clever surveillance system keeps yeast in check

The spectrum of human diseases (mycoses) caused by fungi ranges from trivial nail infections to life-threatening systemic infections. The latter are mainly caused by Candida albicans. The dermatologist Prof. Dr. med. Martin Schaller from Tübingen is investigating how this fungus, which is actually part of the normal microbial flora of humans, becomes a pathogen. At the same time, he is looking into the role the patient’s immune system plays in…

Article - 28/10/2009

Worn down and financially exhausted, but more popular than ever

When academic toxicologists in a German state join forces, it is virtually headline news. This is because the discipline is on the red list. Only in Baden-Württemberg does the number of toxicologists at university institutes justify the joining of forces. The ironic thing about this is that the competence of the rare species ”toxicologicus” is in greater demand than ever.

Press release - 16/09/2009

Praise and prize for researchers from Ulm

Three prizes have recently been awarded to researchers for their outstanding achievements in the research of methods that help reduce the number of animal experiments conducted, contribute to elucidating cellular processes and improve patient treatment. This article features the three prizewinners and their achievements.

Press release - 15/09/2009

Nose drops rather than transplantation – an alternative and complementary method to animal testing

On 14th September 2009 the physician Dr. Lusine Danielyan from Tübingen was awarded the Förderpreis Ersatz- und Ergänzungsmethoden zum Tierversuch des Landes Baden-Württemberg Prize for alternative and complementary methods to animal testing in Stuttgart. The young scientist who works in the Department of Clinical Pharmacology at the Institute of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University Hospital of Tübingen has…

Press release - 08/09/2009

Angiogenesis as a key for tissue engineering

The German Research Foundation is to fund a research priority of the Department of Plastic Surgery at the Freiburg University Medical Centre. Researchers around the world working in the area of regenerative medicine are all equally hopeful of generating tissue replacements using modern tissue engineering. The development of tissue cells on carrier materials seems quite promising. However, tissue-engineered implants are often rejected by patients…

Dossier - 26/08/2009

Model organisms

Given that everything is very individual in nature, how can a biologist come up with general statements about how life functions? The answers can only be found using models that represent the entire whole. Modern research uses representative species from the kingdom of bacteria, fungi, plants and animals to glean information about fundamental biological principles. How can the knowledge gained be transferred to other organisms, including humans?…

Article - 21/08/2009

Patenting and clinical trials go hand in hand

Back when he was doing his degree thesis at the German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelberg the immunologist Prof. Peter Öhlschläger who now works at the University of Constance laid down the basic principles for developing an artificial gene for the treatment of cervical cancer. Prof. Öhlschläger is currently in the process of filing a patent for DNA vaccines for HPV. In the following interview the scientist says that the greatest challenges are…

Article - 30/06/2009

More targeted treatment of the brain network

“Casting out the demons with the ruler of the demons” – is what the majority of neuroactive drugs still do. A group under the leadership of Dr. Ralf Meyer at the University Medical Centre in Freiburg is investigating why substances used to treat epilepsy or depression have a negative effect on many patients. Their research shows that the drugs interact with the hormonal system, resulting in undesired side effects. Meyer and his team of…

Press release - 24/06/2009

Artificial liver for drug testing

The liver is one of the most important metabolic organs in humans. Johanna Schanz and Heike Mertsching, two scientists from Fraunhofer have developed a model of the liver that is both viable outside the body and suitable for testing drugs. For their work, the two researchers have been awarded the Technology for People award, along with a cheque for 10,000 euros.

Press release - 22/06/2009

Many animal experiments are superfluous

Researchers at the Esslingen University of Applied Sciences are working on an alternative to the large number of animal experiments that are still being carried out. Researchers under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Bettina Weiß have received a grant from the Landesstiftung Baden-Württemberg foundation for work on this particular research area.

Article - 05/04/2009

JOTEC – artificial blood vessel specialist

JOTEC GmbH a medical device company based in Hechingen has a broad range of solutions on offer for the therapy of vascular diseases including artificial blood vessels and stentgrafts and is an international leader in this field. The company not only produces traditional vascular grafts from high-quality plastics but also absorbable bioartificial vascular grafts and cell-coated grafts made from biomaterials. Such an approach is currently unique in…

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.

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 - 08/01/2009

ILM – Alternative models to replace animal experiments

Since the beginning of the last century, fertilised chicken eggs have been an established model system and are nowadays often used as an alternative to animal experiments. The test model involves the use of the outer, strongly vascularised amnion (the so-called chorioallantoic membrane, CAM) which surrounds the embryo and is used for gas exchange during embryonic development.

A fully automated process is set to improve the production of artificial tissue medical scientists can perform transplants with skin produced in the laboratory. This tissue is also suitable for testing chemicals at a low cost without requiring animal experiments.

Karen Grave-Hermann and Dr. Robert Hermann founded cr.applications in 2003. The two specialists who have wide-ranging experience in drug development talked to Michael Statnik about current trends in their field and about the development of the German biotech sector.

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.

At a meeting at the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment in Berlin an international expert committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development agreed on a new alternative test method involving no animal experiments to determine the irritant properties of foreign substances on the skin.

The medical importance of vitamin D calciferol is most likely even higher than suggested by recently published studies. A study which also involves the endocrinologist Bernhard Böhm from Ulm has attracted enormous attention as it suggests that vitamin D deficiency increases mortality.