Healthcare industry

Article - 08/07/2021

Individual operation risk assessment by the Cognitive Medical Assistant

Despite modern surgical techniques and anaesthetic procedures, serious complications can occur during surgical interventions. An interdisciplinary team at Heidelberg University Hospital has launched a project called the Cognitive Medical Assistant (German: Der Kognitive Medizinische Assistant, KoMed for short), designed to better assess the individual risk of these interventions. The project’s goal is to systematically and comprehensively analyse…

Article - 29/08/2011

Ute Schepers – the therapeutic potential of small RNAs and molecular transporters

Small RNAs can specifically interfere with cellular mechanisms; or more precisely, with the cells’ protein biosynthesis machinery. Scientists have therefore decided to exploit this potential by using small RNAs against cancer cells or cells damaged in other ways. But the question arises as to how the small RNAs can reach the site where their role is to prevent the generation of dangerous proteins. Dr. Ute Schepers and her team from the Karlsruhe…

Article - 09/01/2012

Nutritional medicine: Can certain foods help treat cancer?

Researchers at the Centre for Nutritional Medicine (ZEM), a joint institution of the Universities of Hohenheim and Tübingen, are investigating whether and to what extent certain food components can support the treatment of cancer and are hoping to derive scientifically founded dietary recommendations from their findings.

Article - 10/09/2012

Jan Wehkamp to investigate the causes of chronic inflammatory bowel diseases

It takes a great deal of courage to question a common scientific doctrine especially for scientists at the very beginning of their careers. But around ten years ago Dr. Jan Wehkamp did not shy away from doing just that and as a result he and his scientific partner Professor Dr. Eduard Stange came up with a new explanation for the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory bowel diseases.

Article - 16/04/2012

Pharma 2.0: towards paperless production

Before electronic solutions existed lorries were needed to ship new drug applications which often comprised 500000 or so pages. Thanks to IT this is no longer necessary. IT-based procedures and solutions are playing an increasing role in all areas of the pharmaceutical industry. Markus Roemer CEO of Ravensburg-based comes compliance services supports companies in implementing legal guidelines in this area. In the following interview Roemer talks…

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.…

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 - 21/02/2018

HepaRegeniX – a start-up is taking it up a step!

HepaRegeniX, a biotech company founded in 2016, specialises in developing drugs that restore the regenerative capacity of diseased livers. The three founders of the biotech start-up, Prof. Dr. Lars Zender, Prof. Dr. Stefan Laufer and Dr. Wolfgang Albrecht, anticipate starting clinical testing of the first drug candidate in 2019.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy DMD is a severe disease affecting boys characterised by rapid progression of muscle degeneration so that boys as young as 10 to 12 years of age have to use a wheelchair and leading to death in young men. In Germany about 2500 children and young adults suffer from DMD.

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.

Treatment resistance is a central problem in the treatment of cancer. Bone and soft tissue tumors – known as sarcomas – in adolescents and young adults often stop responding to treatment too. This is because cancer cells develop a large number of new characteristics as the disease progresses and often become resistant to drugs that were originally effective.

The first European Conference for Clinical Nanomedicine is to be held soon in Basel. BIOPRO has therefore discussed this promising area of application with Beat Löffler and Dr. Patrick Hunziker the founders of the European Foundation for Clinical Nanomedicine.

Article - 22/06/2021

Using virtual reality in the clinic to rehabilitate patients with cognitive disorders

Outdated and inadequate methods of neurological rehabilitation are still being used for patients with neurological diseases or injuries – and what’s more, the treatment is usually too late. This is because cognitive training is especially important in the critical phases when the brain is particularly plastic. The Heidelberg-based company living brain proves that early treatment is possible using an extremely innovative method – with concentrated…

Dossier - 07/02/2011

The era of personalised medicine is dawning

A promising future does not easily disappear into thin air. This is certainly the case with the vision of personalised medicine. For many years, biomedical researchers have vaunted the potential benefits of their findings despite the fact that neutral observers do not think that personalised medicine will really take off within the next 15 or 20 years. Moreover personalised medicine is a controversial term. So what is the state of play right now?

Article - 17/10/2011

Papillomaviruses as cancer-causing agents and how they can be fought off

Studies presented at the recent International Papillomavirus Conference in Berlin demonstrate that vaccination can prevent infection with the types of HPV that cause the majority of cervical cancers. New improved vaccines to prevent HPV infections as well as therapeutic vaccines that are effective in people that are already infected are currently being developed. In addition, research has shown that other cancers can also be caused by infective…

The actual age of a person not only depends on the date he or she was born. Biological age, which is far more important in determining lifespan, can so far only be estimated rather than precisely calculated. The European MARK-AGE research project is working on finding a solution to this problem. Esslingen plays a major role in this project for two reasons: the structure of the city and the company BioTeSys.

Article - 14/04/2021

Calling for quality seal for implants

Today's seniors are older and more active, which is why implants remain in the body longer and are subjected to greater strain than before. Improved surfaces are expected to ensure that the implants heal and integrate into the bone optimally. In an interview with BIOPRO, Dietmar Schaffarczyk, CEO of Konstanz-based stimOS GmbH, explains why a voluntary quality seal makes sense and gives consumers a better chance of recognising high-quality…

Scientists from Heidelberg and Mannheim launch research and development task force