Healthcare industry

Press release - 14/07/2016

Study in Peer-Reviewed Journal Vaccine Demonstrates Decoding Mode of Action of mRNA Vaccines

CureVac AG, the most clinically advanced mRNA company, today announced that a study of its RNActive® technology was published in the renowned, peer-reviewed journal Vaccine. The study demonstrated a mechanistic insight into the mode of action and rationale for the use of messenger RNA (mRNA) for the development of multiple vaccines.

Company profile - 27/06/2016

Atriva Therapeutics GmbH: new ways to treat influenza

Influenza viruses constantly change and mutate. This makes treatment difficult and vaccination rather touch and go. But what about targeting virus-manipulated cell events rather than using the virus itself as drug target? Atriva Therapeutics GmbH, a start-up company from Tübingen, shows how this works.

Article - 20/06/2016

Activation of the innate immune system against metastatic colorectal cancer

Researchers from Heidelberg have shown that instead of fighting cancer cells, macrophages of the innate immune system promote the growth of metastases in people with metastatic colorectal cancer. They have also shown that a signal inhibitor used to treat HIV infections reactivates macrophages so that they gain the ability to destroy cancer cells. A clinical phase I study has confirmed the antitumoral effects of this drug.

Article - 23/05/2016

Fungal infections of the lungs – antibody-based imaging improves diagnosis

Cancer was the first area of diagnostics in which antibody-based PET/MRI imaging was used. The diagnosis of fungal infections will be the next. The innovative method is being developed by a European research consortium coordinated by researchers in Tübingen.

Article - 26/04/2016

Methadone for cancer treatment? Clinical trials are needed to prove the effectiveness of this opioid

Claudia Friesen, an oncologist at Ulm University Hospital, has achieved what many scientists dream of: she has made a discovery that has increased existing knowledge, and can be used to help people. People with cancers that are resistant to all conventional therapies who have been given methadone for pain relief in combination with conventional chemo- or radiation therapy, have reported that tumours have shrunk or disappeared completely. Clinical…

Retrospective Meet & Match Pharmaceutical Process Technology - 07/04/2016

Speed dating for Pharmaceutical Process Technology – a business flirt at Bosch

The speed dating format is no longer just a popular and simple dating method for lonely hearts, but has also become a rewarding way for establishing new business contacts and connections quickly and efficiently. BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg chose speed networking, as speed dating is called in the corporate world, for its recent Meet & Match event on pharmaceutical process technology, which took place on 15th March 2016 with the support of Bosch…

Medical technology - 14/03/2016

The operating room of the future: minimally invasive and future-oriented intervention techniques

Being able to diagnose and treat tumour patients in just a few hours is just one of the many promising goals of the Fraunhofer Project Group for Automation in Medicine and Biotechnology (PAMB). The overall goal of the Intervention and Therapy research group is to take innovative technologies for diagnostic and therapeutic interventions from laboratory development to prototype production for use in clinical trials.

Retina Implant AG, the leading developer of subretinal implants for patients blinded by retinitis pigmentosa (RP), today announced the completion of an €26 million round of private equity funding. The funding represents a significant recommitment by both Retina Implant's long-standing investors and new investors, and will be used to establish new clinical centres around the world. It will also help the company to initiate reimbursement…

Article - 18/01/2016

New approaches in the life sciences industry: innovative strategies for courageous companies

For many years, the pharmaceutical industry has been investing increasing amounts of money in the development of new products. Dr. Friedemann Taut, a specialist in anaesthesia, intensive care, emergency medicine and clinical pharmacology as well as founder and managing director of Taut Science & Service Ltd. a consultanca for Medical Device and Drug Development, explains in the following interview why small- and mid-sized companies can stay a…

Press release - 03/11/2015

CureVac raises $110 Million in a private placement

CureVac, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering the field of mRNA-based technology, today announces that it has raised about $110 million (€100 million) to enable accelerated expansion of its industry-leading messenger RNA (mRNA) development platform and clinical-stage pipeline. CureVac also announces the change of its corporate legal form to a joint stock company, Aktiengesellschaft (AG).

Article - 19/10/2015

New compound that may kill hospital germs is close to clinical testing

Bacteria's increasing resistance to antibiotics is a very serious medical issue. An infection with pathogens such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria can be life-threatening for hospital patients because MRSA has become resistant to the most commonly used antibiotics. Although reserve antibiotics are available in cases where others have lost their ability to control or kill bacterial growth effectively, they do not…

Article - 18/05/2015

Parvoviruses can destroy brain tumours

Parvoviruses such as H-1PV have been shown to selectively attack and destroy human cancer cells. However, they are unable to replicate in healthy human cells. A preliminary clinical trial is currently being carried out to assess the suitability of parvoviruses for treating malignant brain cancer. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now discovered the cause of the selective effect of H-1PV. The finding helps identify…

Article - 16/02/2015

Therapeutic vaccines against brain tumours

Therapeutic cancer vaccines have the potential to boost the immune system's ability to destroy tumour cells. Cancer researchers around the world are intensively studying the potential of this therapeutic concept and initial positive results have been obtained. Cancer researchers from Heidelberg have developed a vaccine that triggers an immune response against a protein that is mutated in brain cancer. The vaccine, which successfully arrested…

Article - 09/02/2015

Joining forces to develop anti-cancer immunotherapies

No cancer therapy is currently achieving such promising results as immunotherapy. The German Cancer Research Center and Bayer HealthCare have established a joint laboratory to develop novel immunotherapies that selectively reactivate the body’s own immune system and incite it to attack tumour cells, thereby supporting the faster translation of concepts from the laboratory into clinical application.

Article - 26/01/2015

Pooling efforts against infectious diseases in Germany

Over 150 scientists at various locations throughout Germany work together as part of the German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF). The centre focuses on the development of new diagnostic, preventive and therapeutic methods for treating infectious diseases. Scientists from the University and University Hospital of Tübingen and the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology are also part of the project. The researchers from Tübingen are…

Dossier - 10/11/2014

Cell and gene therapies: from bench to bedside

While cell therapy has become standard treatment for a number of blood cancers, most cell and gene therapy approaches for the treatment of hereditary and metabolic diseases, neurodegenerative disorders and cancer are still in the experimental phases or early clinical trials. However, recent successes give rise to the hope that cell and gene therapies will in future make important contributions to previously incurable diseases.

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 - 20/10/2014

First ever eye gene therapy close to clinical testing

There are many different retinal diseases simply because many different steps of the visual process can be affected. However, they all have one thing in common: correction of the relevant defective gene currently provides the only possibility of permanent cure. Prof. Dr. Mathias Seeliger and his group of researchers at the Institute of Ophthalmic Research at the University Hospital in Tübingen is specifically focused on the development of gene…

Article - 13/10/2014

Data mining is likely to play an increasing role in clinical development

Data mining still plays a minor role in the research-based pharmaceutical industry. But this is likely to change in the future. Mathematician Hans-Jürgen Lomp predicts that exploratory data analysis will be used to a greater extent in the future. Lomp is the Global Head of Statistics in Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co KG’s Department of Medical Data Service and Biostatistics in Biberach.

Article - 15/09/2014

Mesenchymal stromal cells: promising cell therapy candidates

Mesenchymal stromal cells MSC are increasingly moving into the spotlight as the beacon of hope for somatic cell therapies. The biomedical research community is currently carrying out more than 300 clinical trials to investigate their suitability for a broad range of indications. Prof. Schrezenmeier professor of transfusion medicine and medical director at the Institute for Clinical Transfusion Medicine and Immunogenetics IKT in Ulm is involved in…

Article - 25/08/2014

Frederik Wenz - radiologist sets milestone with new surgical technique for the treatment of bone metastases

Can painful bone metastases be treated in a targeted and quick way? Can metastases that are potentially present in the liver and kidneys be adequately treated at the same time as bone metastases? These are the questions that Professor Dr. med. Frederik Wenz from the University Medical Center Mannheim asked himself before going on to develop an innovative surgical technique. After a long development period, this technique is now recognized as an…

Article - 18/08/2014

Biometry: Peter Martus works at the interface of mathematics and medicine

It’s not computer science, but it’s close to data: Prof. Dr. Peter Martus has an in-depth knowledge of how professional biotechnology and medical statistics are generated. Prof. Martus works at the University of Tübingen where he brings his know-how to clinical trials as well as working on life sciences projects where statistical issues need to be resolved.

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.

Article - 21/07/2014

Predicting the efficiency of cancer drugs using mathematical models

A research consortium was established at the Stuttgart Research Center Systems Biology SRCSB at the University of Stuttgart in January 2013 with the goal of establishing models that help predict the action of targeted therapeutics. The scientists combine molecular biology experiments with complex mathematical models in order to achieve a holistic understanding of disease and therapy.

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…