Healthcare industry

What role do the lymphatic vessels play in the metastasis of cancer cells? Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center and the Mannheim Medical Faculty of the University of Heidelberg developed a method to investigate this question in mice. The aim of the work was to identify new ways to block the dangerous colonization and spread of tumor cells.

Smallest 3D printed miniature endoscope in the world detects cholesterol plaques and thrombs inside human and mouse arteries.

New edition - 24/05/2019

Tumour metastasis

Cancer is usually not curable when metastases have formed in the body. Metastases are often resistant to drugs that have successfully eliminated the primary tumour. The basic features of the complex process of metastasis are now known, but many details still remain elusive. Intensive research activities are focusing on new therapeutic concepts aimed at developing effective anti-metastatic therapies.

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.

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…

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.

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,…

The European Research Council awards Wilfried Weber an ERC Proof of Concept Grant. Wilfried Weber, Professor of Synthetic Biology at the University of Freiburg, has received a grant of roughly €150,000 for his project “Hide and Seek with Cancer Drugs” in which he is working to improve the drugs used in cancer treatment.

Article - 21/12/2016

For all types of tests: Signatope’s biomarker assays

Signatope is a new biotech company that has been offering innovative biomarker assays for application in drug discovery since August 2016. The company’s assays can be used in all phases of drug development to detect potential adverse drug effects on the kidneys, liver and other organs in any species whatsoever using minute amounts of sample.

Company profile - 14/07/2016

neuroloop GmbH: how the manipulation of neuronal information can lower blood pressure

Millions of people worldwide suffer from high blood pressure. However, taking medicines to control high blood pressure does not work for everyone. Dr. Dennis Plachta and Prof. Dr. Thomas Stieglitz from IMTEK have now developed a neurostimulator to control blood pressure. Together with Dr. Michael Lauk, an experienced company founder, the two researchers set up a company called neuroloop, which is funded by Aesculap AG and aims to turn the…

Company profile - 05/07/2016

HS-Analysis GmbH – using digital histology to develop new drugs

The idea of analysing tissue samples automatically sounds more of a pipe dream than anything else. However, it already happens. HS-Analysis GmbH's ability to interpret tissue samples automatically is driving new drug development a decisive step forward.

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 - 21/03/2016

Shock wave therapy gives hope to many men

Although the approval of vasodilatory drugs made available an effective medicine for treating erectile dysfunction, not all men respond to this type of treatment. MTS Medical UG from Konstanz has developed a therapeutic device that means that these men can now get help too. What's more, the device has no adverse health effects.

Article - 21/12/2015

Using a heart simulator for optimal therapy

A realistic computer model of the human heart is expected to make treating heart diseases more effective: doctors will be able to test medicines and surgical techniques on the computer heart and determine the most effective therapy. Olaf Dössel, director of the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, believes that his team's heart model is among the top five in the world.

Article - 14/12/2015

Cathepsin L: overcoming stress in tumours

Cathepsins are proteases, i.e. enzymes that break down proteins into smaller fragments. They are also involved in the formation of new blood vessels and wound healing. Another thing that cathepsins do is help tumours spread and form metastases in the body. Prof. Dr. Thomas Reinheckel and his team from the Institute of Molecular Medicine and Cell Research at the University of Freiburg are studying how this happens. Insights into the role of…

Article - 04/11/2015

DNA capture molecules wanted for cells

Artificial blood vessels made of special polymers are no longer a pipedream. However, one problem that needs to be solved is that the artificial vessels have to be compatible with tissue. One solution could be to dupe the body into thinking that the artificial vessels are real by coating their inside walls with the patient’s own cells. Researchers from Reutlingen have developed a microfluidic chip that identifies molecules that can capture the…

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…

Press release - 05/11/2014

Orphan drug status for Synovo's immune modulator SYD003

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have granted orphan drug designation to Synovo's investigational compound SYD003, a first in class tumour-targeted immune modulator.

Article - 18/08/2014

VAXIMM: Vaccines that impede cancer growth

VAXIMM GmbH, a young biotechnology company from Mannheim, Germany, specialises in the development of vaccines for cancer treatment. The company’s first product candidate, VXM01, is a live oral vaccine that targets the VEGFR-2 receptor and hence the blood supply of tumours. VXM01 is currently undergoing clinical testing in pancreatic cancer patients.

Press release - 15/07/2014

amcure Receives EUR 5 Million Funding for the Development of New Tumour Therapeutic Agents

amcure GmbH, a spin-off from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), has closed a Series A financing deal amounting to a total of EUR 5 million. The funding comes from a consortium headed by LBBW Venture Capital, with participations from KfW, MBG Mittelständische Beteiligungsgesellschaft Baden-Wuerttemberg, S-Kap Beteiligungen Pforzheim, BioM AG as well as private investors. The company also receives subsidies from the German Ministry of…

Article - 22/04/2014

Synthetic nanoparticles as mini-pills for the treatment of tumours

Little is yet known about the risks and dangers of the tiny particles that play a key role in the field of nanotechnology because many applications are still under development. The technology is therefore not without controversy. However, there are promising possibilities for equipping artificial particles with new functions, such as optimizing the targeted delivery of drugs in the human body or developing a non-invasive type of cancer therapy.…

Article - 16/12/2013

Cellendes puts paradigm change in cell research to good use

Cells grown on the flat furfaces of tissue culture plates do not behave as they would in their natural environment. This is why scientists are now using three-dimensional substrates to replicate the natural environmental of cells in tissue cellular matrix. Dr. Brigitte Angres and Dr. Helmut Wurst founders and managing directors of Cellendes GmbH in Reutlingen have taken advantage of this new knowledge and developed two novel hydrogels for cell…

Article - 03/06/2013

Red light to elucidate the regulatory mechanisms of gene expression

The interaction of proteins and RNA is a crucial factor in the regulation of gene expression. These protein-RNA interactions can be specifically controlled and investigated inside the cell using proteins with customised chemical functions. In his doctoral thesis, chemist Moritz Schmidt from the University of Konstanz addresses the possibility of conveying new functions to proteins by introducing non-natural amino acids. He has developed a…

Article - 25/03/2013

SHENC – shear flow regulation of hemostasis

The first step in closing wounds is the aggregation of the von Willebrand factor glycoprotein with blood platelets, which plugs the hole in the blood vessel and stops blood from leaking out. Using computer simulations and artificial blood vessel experiments, researchers from Mannheim have shown that this aggregation is a reversible process that depends on the shear forces resulting from the flow of the blood. This also prevents the clogging of…

Press release - 18/03/2013

Med Cell Europe AG: medicine from a patient’s own adipose tissue

Med Cell Europe AG, which is headquartered in Münchwilen, Switzerland, and a member of the BioLAGO bioregion, is the only private stem cell bank in Europe that isolates adult stem cells from customers’ adipose tissue. The biotech company, which was founded in 2010, is also active in research. The focus, amongst other things, is on the transformation of stem cells into insulin-producing cells and cytotoxicity tests to explore potential damage to…