Healthcare industry

Press release - 12/03/2010

mtm laboratories announces the European launch of CINtec® PLUS

mtm laboratories, a privately held diagnostics company from Heidelberg, Germany, announced the launch of CINtec® PLUS, the company’s next generation cervical cancer screening product with unmatched accuracy for the screening and management for cervical cancer. CINtec® PLUS will be launched with claims direct in Germany, Italy, Spain, France and the UK, and will also be available in other parts of the world via mtm’s nominated distributors.

Press release - 18/02/2010

New molecules promise improved diagnosis of pancreatic cancer

Being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer is often a death sentence. One reason for the high mortality rate of pancreatic cancer patients is that there is currently no reliable diagnosis of early stages and no cure once the disease has reached a late stage. In an EU-funded project, 23 research groups from six countries have developed new strategies for the improved diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Researchers at the Ulm-based Hospital for Nuclear…

Press release - 26/01/2010

Apogenix Initiates Clinical Phase II Study with its Lead Compound APG101 in Glioblastoma

Apogenix GmbH, a biopharmaceutical company today announced the start of a clinical Phase II trial with its lead compound AGP101 in Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM). The first patient has been treated with APG101 since December 2009 at the University Hospital in Heidelberg, Germany.

Article - 25/01/2010

Hope for effective ulcerative colitis treatment

Ulcerative colitis, a chronic form of inflammatory bowel disease, is characterised by a reduced amount of the lipid phosphatidylcholine in the colon mucosa. This fact was discovered by Wolfgang Stremmel and his team at the University Hospital of Heidelberg. In collaboration with the Heidelberg-based biotechnology company Lipid Therapeutics, the researchers are now working on the development of a phosphatidylcholine drug for the treatment of this…

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 - 18/01/2010

New substance helps PKU patients enjoy food

For many decades, a special low-protein (low-phenylalanine) diet has been the only way of treating children suffering from phenylketonuria (PKU) that effectively prevents them from developing severe impairments in mental function. However, this type of diet is not very tasty and it is often difficult to get children to cooperate. A paediatrician from Reutlingen, Prof. Dr. Friedrich Trefz, has now been able to show that the substance sapropterin…

Press release - 13/11/2009

Single molecules under the laser: How the genetic material is unwrapped

The genetic material found in cells is not in its free state, but is bound to large protein complexes and tightly wrapped. To activate genes that could well play a role in carcinogenesis, the genetic material first needs to be unwrapped and made accessible to other cell components. Using a new biophysical method called single molecule spectroscopy, scientists from the “Biophysics of Macromolecules” division at the German Cancer Research Centre…

Press release - 11/11/2009

Hematopoietic stem cell treatment with a new gene therapy vector: A first success treating a brain disease

Two children with adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), a fatal brain disease, have been successfully treated with a new gene therapy vector. Two years after treatment, the disease evolution has been stopped, and no adverse effect of the gene therapy has been observed so far. The results of this clinical trial conducted by Drs Nathalie Cartier and Patrick Aubourg (Inserm, France) in collaboration with European partners have just been published in Science…

Press release - 05/11/2009

Canadian companies to establish contacts with potential Baden-Württemberg partners

At a Canadian-German partnering event held on 29th October 2009 in Stuttgart, a number of Canadian and German companies presented themselves to an audience of representatives from industry, business associations and politics. The partnering event was jointly organised by the Canadian Consulate and BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg.

Press release - 21/10/2009

Meyenburg Award 2009 for the First Targeted Anti-Cancer Drug

The 2009 Meyenburg Award for Cancer Research with an award sum of 50,000 euros goes to American blood cancer expert, Brian Druker. The Meyenburg Foundation honors Druker as a pioneer of molecularly targeted cancer therapies for developing the leukemia drug Imatinib (Gleevec). Druker’s work has turned chronic myeloid leukemia from a deathly threat into a treatable disease for many patients today. The Meyenburg-Award has been presented on…

Lipid Therapeutics GmbH and Dr. Falk Pharma GmbH announced on 30th, September, that they have entered into a co-development and licensing agreement for LT-02. Under the terms of the agreement, Dr. Falk Pharma will receive exclusive access to the European rights to Lipid Therapeutics’ lead product LT-02 for the treatment of ulcerative colitis. Ulcerative colitis is a severe inflammation of the colon affecting more than one million people…

Malignant brain tumours do not often respond to promising new drugs. Researchers from Heidelberg have now uncovered a mechanism and a tumour marker that are linked to the development of this resistance. A “death receptor” might possibly indicate the chances of success of chemotherapy at the same time as providing new approaches for developing a new therapy for the successful treatment of brain tumours.

Affimed Therapeutics AG announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to the human recombinant antibody AFM13 for the treatment of Hodgkin lymphoma. The designation entitles Affimed to seven-year market exclusivity in the US upon approval of this drug candidate. AFM13 is a novel, bispecific antibody based on Affimed's proprietary TandAb technology.

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…

After a successful start of the 2009 business year, Boehringer Ingelheim is expecting their sales growth to outpace the world pharmaceutical market; for the tenth time in succession. As announced by this second-largest German pharmaceuticals producer, the company posted growth in local currency (+ 8.3 per cent) over the previous year in the first six months of 2009. Net sales amounted to 6,388 million euro.

Press release - 28/07/2009

New trachea made from human tissue

A team of doctors from the Schillerhöhe Hospital, which is part of the Robert Bosch Hospital in Stuttgart, in cooperation with researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute of Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB in Stuttgart, has developed a method that enables artificially produced autologous tissue to be implanted into patients with severe tracheal injuries. The method involves the cultivation of extensive parts of the human trachea and…

Press release - 23/07/2009

Mannheim Medical Centre – leading cancer laboratory and clinical research centre

Mannheim is the only medical centre in Germany to fulfil the criteria of an affiliated centre of EORTC. According to a recent EORTC report Mannheim is the only German centre that has fulfilled the organisations high quality criteria over the last three years.

Article - 02/07/2009

A virus that hides while it waits for an opportunity to replicate

Thomas Mertens, Medical Director of the Institute of Virology in Ulm, has a strong scientific and clinical interest in the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), a big virus with a big impact which, despite its size, is overshadowed by known viruses such as the HI virus that is the object of research for Mertens’ colleagues. HCMV research is a challenging area where quick successes are rare.

Press release - 30/06/2009

Gentle rather than radical: ways to improve the treatment of autoimmune diseases

Autoimmune diseases are usually treated with drugs that block the entire immune system rendering the body very susceptible to all kinds of infections. A team of Constance researchers under the leadership of Prof. Marcus Groettrup has developed a treatment method that only targets part of the immune system and is therefore far better tolerated by patients.

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 - 28/05/2009

CureVac Begins Clinical Study with mRNA Vaccine

CureVac GmbH announced that the Paul-Ehrlich-Institute, the German regulatory authority for medicinal products, has approved the Clinical Trial Application (CTA) to begin a Phase I clinical study with RNActive® derived mRNA vaccine CV9201. The vaccine will be tested in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer who have been pre-treated with different therapies.

Press release - 26/03/2009

Sygnis Pharma AG increases capital

SYGNIS Pharma AG reported its financial results for the first nine months of the fiscal year 20082009. The company improved its cash position significantly as a result of a successful capital increase. Following the capital increase the stake of dievini Hopp BioTech in SYGNIS Pharma AG increased to approximately 44.90 of the total share capital. The preparations for the phase II efficacy trial of its lead candidate AX200 in acute ischemic stroke…

Article - 17/02/2009

Tissue engineering companies and EU obstacles

With the new regulation on advanced therapy medicinal products the European Union has tried to establish legal certainty with regard to gene therapy somatic cell therapy and tissue engineering products. However Dr. Heinz W. Joseph of TETEC AG is sure that the new guidelines will lead to problems for small and medium-sized companies.

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.

CureVac Receives IND Approval from the FDA to start its Phase I/IIa mRNA Vaccine Clinical Trial in Prostate Cancer.