Healthcare industry

Press release - 04/07/2018

Phase-I-trial approved for novel stem cell therapy for patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy

Viscofan BioEngineering, the biomedical business unit of the world market leader for collagenous sausage casings Viscofan announced today that the Spanish Agency for Medicines (AEMPS) has given green light to carry out a clinical phase-I-trial with Viscofan BioEngineering’s first product for regenerative medicine. The novel therapy consisting of stem cells on a collagenous carrier membrane can now be tested on ten patients suffering from severe…

Article - 22/11/2016

Research on the durability and longevity of artificial joints

In Germany alone, several hundred thousand patients are given an artificial hip, knee or shoulder joint every year. Prof. Dr. Jan Philippe Kretzer and his team of researchers in the Laboratory of Biomechanics and Implant Research at the University Hospital in Heidelberg are studying what limits the longevity of implants and how durability can be improved.

Article - 13/09/2016

Catalent – galenics experts from Schorndorf

Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are working intensively on the discovery and development of new drugs for the efficient and safe treatment of diseases. However, before drugs are authorised for treating humans and animals, they have to be made into a form that is acceptable. That is where a company called Catalent Pharma Solutions, with a facility in Schorndorf in the south of Germany, comes in.

Article - 01/09/2016

Tailor-made biotech fibres for improved wound dressings

Scientists have developed a biotechnological process to produce bacterial alginate. The alginate quality is highly reproducible, making it suitable for the production of fibre-based medicinal products such as wound dressings.

Article - 09/05/2016

FlexiTel – microsensors for tissue monitoring

When soft tissue is transplanted, for example in a patient undergoing tumour surgery, care must be taken to ensure that the new tissue is connected to the blood system in the area where the tumour has been removed. How well this works is difficult to find out, especially in the case of deep-seated defects. Partially implantable microsensor probes called FlexiTel have the potential to improve this situation by monitoring success during the first…

Article - 02/05/2016

Biopolymers – raw materials for innovative medical products

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are biodegradable biopolymers that are becoming increasingly important. Bioplastics are now used not only in everyday objects such as plastic bags and yogurt pots but also increasingly in the field of medicine, which is why intensive research into medical devices made from biodegradable polymers such as PHA has been going on for quite some time.

Article - 04/04/2016

An intelligent system for the storage and controlled release of pharmaceutical substances

A sophisticated reservoir that sits under the skin and dispenses precise quantities of drugs locally and at a particular point in time now exists. A junior research group from the University of Freiburg’s BrainLinks-BrainTools excellence cluster led by Dr. Maria Asplund and her doctoral student Christian Böhler from the Department of Microsystems Engineering (IMTEK) has developed a small storage system made of organic-inorganic hybrid material…

Article - 17/11/2015

Novel hydrogels as functional materials

In the ”NanoBioMater”project house, researchers from the University of Stuttgart are working to develop novel hydrogels with integrated biocompatible scaffold structures. Their aim is to make the materials suitable for producing innovative components for environmental and food analytics as well as medical applications. The hydrogels could potentially be used in diagnostic biosensors and the controlled release of medical compounds.

Article - 22/06/2015

3D bioprinting: replicating the shape of bone parts

Prof. Dr. Günter Finkenzeller, head of the Research and Tissue Engineering Laboratory in the Department of Plastic and Hand Surgery at the Freiburg University Medical Centre, and Dr. Peter Koltay from the Department of Microsystems Engineering (IMTEK) at the University of Freiburg, are being given German Research Foundation (DFG) funds for a period of three years to develop a 3D printing technique for functional bone tissue containing blood…

Article - 28/11/2014

Martin Plenio - turning Ulm’s quantum biology into a technology forge

Quantum biology has the potential to become the next big research coup. Professor Martin Plenio, 46, director of the Institute of Theoretical Physics at Ulm University and one of the world’s leading quantum technologists, is right at the forefront. He has been Alexander von Humboldt Professor since 2009, and holds a part-time professorship at Imperial College London, where he was formerly chair of quantum physics.

Article - 05/05/2014

Michael Doser brings together biomedicine and textile research

Textile products used for the treatment of wounds are increasingly being coupled with bioactive functions. A growing number of biocompatible and absorbable high-tech materials are used on and in the human body for therapy, diagnosis and measurements. Michael Doser, Director of Medical Engineering/Biomedical Process Engineering at the ITV Denkendorf, is working on innovative wound management products and processes.

Article - 14/04/2014

Small, round, versatile: cyclic dipeptides in hydrogels

Researchers from the University of Tübingen have discovered a new type of hydrogelators: cyclic peptides consisting of amino acid building blocks that are also found in the human body. Preliminary work has shown that these hydrogels are excellently suited as carriers for medical substances. In addition, mechanically damaged hydrogels have excellent self-healing capacity and are therefore suitable for injection-based drug delivery.

Dossier - 31/03/2014

Peptides – diverse molecules of life

Peptides exist in all organisms, wherever there are cells. The range of their physiological functions is huge. Biologically active peptides can act as hormones, neurotransmitters, growth factors as well as toxins and antibiotics. This is what makes them highly interesting drug leads. They are used for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, cancer and other diseases. Despite some drawbacks, peptides are gaining in importance as candidates for drugs…

Article - 26/03/2014

CeloNova is taking off

CeloNova BioSciences is a global medical device company whose core technology is currently mainly used for interventional cardiology (stents) and tumour embolisation (selective occlusion of tumour arteries) products. The company has been expanding since 2010. CeloNova products are currently available in 52 countries and there are plans to place them on the Asian market in 2014 and further increase company turnover.

Press release - 11/10/2012

Novalung GmbH receives EU grant for the development of a cell-coated artificial lung

The AmbuLung (Ambulatory Bioartificial Lung) project is a milestone in the history of artificial organs and is being subsidized by the EU with a total of 5.6 Million Euros - 3 Million Euros will go to Novalung as the Coordinator of the European development consortium. The joint developmental goal is the AmbuLung, which will allow patients to remain awake, mobile and active despite lung failure. The core innovation within the framework of the…

Article - 17/09/2012

Alexander Wittemann: polymeric nanostructures as carriers of biomolecules

Vesicles form naturally in cells and can do many things including transporting pharmaceutically active substances to tumours. However natural vesicles only have a short lifespan which can lead to the premature release of the drug enclosed within them. Alexander Wittemann a chemist at Konstanz University has successfully developed artificial biocompatible polymer vesicles with a much longer lifespan.

Press release - 16/07/2012

Winners of the "Science2Start" ideas competition honoured

BioRegio STERN Management GmbH honoured the three winners of the regional "Science2Start" ideas competition last Thursday evening. The award ceremony was part of the traditional summer soirée given by BioRegio STERN Management GmbH in collaboration with TTR Technologieparks Tübingen-Reutlingen GmbH, the Verein zur Förderung der Biotechnologie und der Medizintechnik e.V. (Society for the Promotion of Biotechnology and Medical Technology)…

Article - 30/01/2012

Silicone application in medical technology

Silicone is flexible, biocompatible and heat-resistant, characteristics that make organosilicone compounds ideal for a wide range of applications in medical technology. Up until now, the broad application of such compounds has been hampered chiefly by the high surface friction of silicone. The Reutlingen-based company Silcos GmbH has developed special methods for the treatment of surfaces that considerably improve the compound's range of…

Article - 18/07/2011

Titanium screws and stem cells for dental implants

How are we supposed to chew and smile when the tooth fairy comes to fetch our second set of teeth? When it’s difficult to tell the difference between modern tooth implants and real teeth in both technical and aesthetical terms, people who lose their teeth due to accidents or age very quickly regain their smile. However, there needs to be enough bone to hold and support the implant. Prof. Dr. Dr. Ralf Gutwald and his team in the Department of Oral…

Article - 04/07/2011

Orthobion GmbH: biomaterials for spinal implants

If one takes a closer look at the mechanisms involved in bone growth, it turns out that the supposedly simple issue as to how bones grow cannot be fully answered. Konstanz-based Orthobion GmbH investigates and produces targeted biomaterials for use in implants designed for the treatment of spinal column defects. The surface structures of materials and how they affect the adhesion of bones to implant surfaces are key issues in the production of…

Article - 04/07/2011

The adhesion of cells to the endothelium and to artificial surfaces

Professor Stefan W. Schneider from the Mannheim Medical Faculty is investigating the function of the vascular endothelium and its interaction with blood and tumour cells using microfluidics methods that enable him to measure the adhesion of cells to the walls of blood vessels under physiological flow conditions. As part of an interdisciplinary project, he is investigating the characteristics of wafer-thin surfaces covered with living cells, which…

Dossier - 04/07/2011

Implants of the future: bioactive, corrosion-resistant and antibacterial

People’s life expectancy is increasing due to constantly improving medical treatment. One result of this is the greater wear of joints, which then need to be replaced with implants. Increased life expectancy means that the implants remain in the body for much longer and therefore need to be longer lasting. The revision rate of implant materials used in clinical practice is still as much as 10 per cent, particularly in the case of hip and knee…

Article - 18/04/2011

Can tissue be glued together in a non-invasive way?

At present, the use of substances to glue tissue together is only an idea, but it might eventually mean that surgeons will no longer need to use a needle and thread. The cellular and molecular biologist Rainer Wittig from the Ulm-based ILM hopes to develop such substances using a photochemical process. He is also planning to test substances that not only adhere to tissue but which will also be able to initiate the wound healing process.

Press release - 21/03/2011

Polymer brushes with mini proteins protect implants

Patients who have had surgical implants are at risk of developing serious complications due to bacterial infections. This affects around two to six per cent of patients with implants. Scientists from the KIT Institute of Functional Interfaces (IFG) have now succeeded in developing a protective layer that prevents bacteria from adhering to implants and creating dangerous biofilms that can lead to serious infections. The protective layer has proven…

Article - 21/03/2011

Fluoron – a company that is well underway

Fluoron is a company that takes close contact with customers very seriously. This is why Christian Lingenfelder and his team frequently pack their suitcases to travel from place to place visiting Russian or Chinese operating theatres. Thousands of kilometres from the company’s production site in Ulm, the Fluoron team exchanges information with the retina surgeons for whom the company develops and produces highly pure biomaterials for use in…