Stem cell research - 12/07/2018 The role of stem cell dormancy in regeneration and cancer Scientists at the HI-STEM stem cell institute in Heidelberg have shown that the stem cells responsible for replenishing blood cells have the greatest potential of self-renewal of any other stem cells. However, they are normally in a dormant state, and only become active upon exposure to certain stress factors. An oncogene called MYC controls the stem cells' transition from dormancy to active self-renewal.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/the-role-of-stem-cell-dormancy-in-regeneration-and-cancer
Expert interview - 26/06/2018 Genome analyses: "Germany lags behind dramatically" Around 6,000 genetic diseases can be diagnosed using genetic tests. Genetic testing enables the accurate identification of diseases especially when symptoms are unclear, and also allows statements to be made about disease progression. However, restrictive regulations considerably hinder the use of genetic diagnostics. BIOPRO spoke with Dr. Dr. Saskia Biskup, a human genetics specialist and co-founder of the Tübingen-based company CeGaT. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/genome-analyses-germany-lags-behind-dramatically
Press release - 03/04/2018 Double success for Heidelberg stem cell researchers Two awards at once, both carrying high monetary prizes, go to young researchers from the Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Research and Experimental Medicine (HI-STEM) at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ): Simon Raffel will receive the 2018 Walter Schulz Prize. Simon Haas will share the 2018 Otto Schmeil Prize with his colleague Lars Velten from EMBL. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/double-success-for-heidelberg-stem-cell-researchers
Big Data - 26/03/2018 Eliciting reliable information from big data with classifiers and multimodal data fusion Prof. Hans A. Kestler knows a great deal about large amounts of data. He heads up the Institute of Medical Systems Biology at the University of Ulm and is constantly inundated with cooperation enquiries from clinicians. On behalf of BIOPRO, Walter Pytlik asked him whether the conditions for using big data more in biomedical research are already largely present. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/eliciting-reliable-information-from-big-data-with-classifiers-and-multimodal-data-fusion
Alternative to animal experiments - 21/03/2018 Drug tests using miniature organs At present, potential new drugs have to be tested on animals before they can be used on humans. However, results obtained from animals are not always transferrable to the situation in humans, which is why researchers around the world have long been seeking alternatives. Miniature human organs that can be used to test the efficacy of potential human drugs might provide a solution.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/drug-tests-using-miniature-organs
Dossier - 06/03/2018 Big data - the big promise of the new digitised world Big data is a widely used buzzword in today's information era. The use of big data in the digital world presents both an opportunity and a risk. Mass data is now used and analysed in almost all areas of life. Even the healthcare sector is undergoing extensive digitisation. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/big-data-the-big-promise-of-the-new-digitised-world
Article - 20/02/2018 New strategies against malaria Malaria, which is a mosquito-borne disease caused by Plasmodium parasites, is still one of the worst infectious human diseases. The parasites have developed resistance against previously effective drugs and new strategies to combat malaria are urgently needed.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/new-strategies-against-malaria
Diagnostics - 29/01/2018 New test for extended blood fat analysis Cholesterol is seen as the cause of atherosclerosis, a disease that can lead to heart attacks and strokes. However, it now seems that the way cholesterol is packaged may be even more important than high blood cholesterol levels. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy now allows the high-throughput analysis of such lipid packages. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/new-test-for-extended-blood-fat-analysis
Press release - 04/01/2018 CureVac and Arcturus Therapeutics Announce Broad Strategic Collaboration to Advance Next Generation of Lipid-Mediated mRNA Therapeutics CureVac AG, a leading clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of pioneering mRNA therapeutics, and Arcturus Therapeutics Ltd. (NASDAQ:ARCT), an RNA medicines company, today announced they have entered into a broad strategic collaboration to jointly discover, develop and commercialize novel messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/curevac-and-arcturus-therapeutics-announce-broad-strategic-collaboration-to-advance-next-generation-of-lipid-mediated-mrna-thera
Article - 13/11/2017 An artificial heart valve with the potential to grow About 30,000 artificial heart valves are implanted in Germany every year. The durability of these heart valves presents a major challenge, requiring them to be exchanged time and again, especially in young patients. Researchers from the Stuttgart Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB have developed a new artificial heart valve material on which cells that are naturally present in a patient’s blood can form new…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/an-artificial-heart-valve-with-the-potential-to-grow
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
Transregional research cooperation - 11/10/2017 New research consortium to develop new liver cancer treatments The causes, signs and symptoms of liver cancer are extremely complex. Investigating them requires the collaboration of many experts across university and regional boundaries. A new transregional research group is now studying the complex overall mechanisms at the cellular, genetic and molecular level in order to develop new concepts and drugs for treating liver and bile duct cancers.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/new-research-consortium-to-develop-new-liver-cancer-treatments
Press release - 04/10/2017 Immatics Receives $58 Million in Financing to Develop T-Cell Receptor Based Immunotherapies Tuebingen, Germany and Houston, Texas, October 4, 2017 – Immatics, a leading company in the field of cancer immunotherapy, today announced the completion of its Series E financing, raising $58 million.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/immatics-receives-58-million-in-financing-to-develop-t-cell-receptor-based-immunotherapies
Press release - 05/09/2017 Cell marking opens up a window into the body A new and particularly reliable method for marking cells can simplify research into diseases such as myocardial infarction, diabetes or Alzheimer's and reduce the use of test animals: Scientists from the University of Tübingen have developed a method by which they can target specific cell types in mice and monitor their behavior using positron emission tomography (PET). PET-based cell tracking allows scientists to observe complex life…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/cell-marking-opens-up-a-window-into-the-body
Company profile - 04/09/2017 Mireca: a new drug for stopping the progression of eye diseases A team of researchers from several EU countries has developed a new drug that stops the progression of hereditary retinal diseases. The project partners founded a company called Mireca Medicines GmbH in the city of Tübingen to bring the drug to market. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/mireca-a-new-drug-for-stopping-the-progression-of-eye-diseases
Article - 14/08/2017 Saskia Biskup – towards precision medicine Therapeutic success can only be achieved when diagnoses are as precise as possible. Nowadays, genetic analyses can make precise diagnoses for many diseases. And thanks to high-throughput technology, results are available to patients very quickly. Dr. Dr. Saskia Biskup recognised the importance of precision medicine many years ago and went on to found CeGaT GmbH, a company that combines human genetics with high-throughput sequencing. Three…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/saskia-biskup-towards-precision-medicine
Article - 08/08/2017 N2B-patch: circumventing the blood-brain barrier There are many medications for treating central nervous system diseases. However, only a fraction of the active pharmaceutical ingredients actually reaches the site where they are needed. The reason for this is the blood-brain barrier that protects the brain and thus prevents many drugs used to treat neurological diseases from effectively penetrating the brain. Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/n2b-patch-circumventing-the-blood-brain-barrier
Article - 04/07/2017 Ruxolitinib – successful graft-versus-host disease treatment Graft-versus-host disease is a serious complication in leukaemia patients who have been given a blood stem cell transplant from a genetically different person. Prof. Dr. Nikolas von Bubnoff and Prof. Dr. Robert Zeiser from the Department of Haematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation at Freiburg University Medical Centre initiated a Germany-wide study to show that an active substance called ruxolitinib has a promising therapeutic effect.…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/ruxolitinib-successful-graft-versus-host-disease-treatment
Press release - 24/05/2017 High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) invests in Reutlingen-based SIGNATOPE GmbH – Safe medications thanks to new test procedures High-Tech Gründerfonds is investing EUR 600,000 in Reutlingen-based SIGNATOPE GmbH. SIGNATOPE will use the funds to advance the development of its unique biomarker assay system, that has been established to support pharmaceutical research. The technology is based on special antibodies and allows the early detection of possible side effects during the drug development process. Thereby, the need for animal testing will be reduced while the drug…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/high-tech-gruenderfonds-htgf-invests-in-reutlingen-based-signatope-gmbh-safe-medications-thanks-to-new-test-procedures
Press release - 23/05/2017 TolerogenixX secures seed funding and completes Phase I clinical trial TolerogenixX GmbH has developed a patented and clinically tested cell therapy technique for individualised immunosuppression in transplant patients. The technique enables the targeted disabling of undesired reactions caused by the immune system’s defences. As a seed stage investor, High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) will finance this innovative technique and the preparations for Phase II of the clinical trial, which begins in spring 2018. Further…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/tolerogenixx-secures-seed-funding-and-completes-phase-i-clinical-trial
Personalised Medicine - 04/05/2017 Big data make therapy work better An international team of researchers has shown for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) that cancer therapy can be personalised using big data. The authors of the study “believe this paper is a step towards validation of genetic techniques as a route to personalised medicine”. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/mit-big-data-genauer-therapieren
24.04.2017 World Day for Laboratory Animals On 24 April 2017 is "World Day for Laboratory Animals" – the BIOPRO provides information about this topic. In Baden-Württemberg alone, up to 600,000 animals are used for scientific purposes every year. In order to reduce their pain and suffering as much as possible, researchers all over the world are working on the development of innovative methods to replace animal experiments, including cell culture methods for drug analysis,…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/world-day-for-laboratory-animals
Press release - 05/04/2017 New EU rules on medical devices to enhance patient safety and modernise public health The Commission welcomes the adoption of its proposal for two Regulations on medical devices which establish a modernised and more robust EU legislative framework to ensure better protection of public health and patient safety.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/new-eu-rules-on-medical-devices-to-enhance-patient-safety-and-modernise-public-health
Article - 31/03/2017 Bosch to enter the medical technology sector – start-up culture meets proven expertise Many of us have known the Bosch Group mainly as a technology company that is active in the automotive sector. Now, the multinational company is opening up a whole new field of business and is entering the medical technology market with a new subsidiary. Bosch Healthcare Solutions GmbH, which is headquartered in the city of Waiblingen, has developed an innovative breath analysis device that allows asthmatics to measure the severity of airway…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/bosch-to-enter-the-medical-technology-sector-start-up-culture-meets-proven-expertise
Prenatal diagnosis - 23/03/2017 Microdroplets for safe and rapid prenatal diagnoses Although the methods used to carry out amniocentesis are quite sophisticated, there is still a 0.5 percent risk of miscarriage following the intervention. Therefore, an EU-funded project called AngeLab is developing a rapid test that only requires a blood sample of the mother rather than amniotic fluid. The test yields information on the genetic health of the foetus within only a few hours. As part of the project, researchers from the…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/microdroplets-for-safe-and-rapid-prenatal-diagnoses