Healthcare industry

Press release - 04/07/2018

Phase-I-trial approved for novel stem cell therapy for patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy

Viscofan BioEngineering, the biomedical business unit of the world market leader for collagenous sausage casings Viscofan announced today that the Spanish Agency for Medicines (AEMPS) has given green light to carry out a clinical phase-I-trial with Viscofan BioEngineering’s first product for regenerative medicine. The novel therapy consisting of stem cells on a collagenous carrier membrane can now be tested on ten patients suffering from severe…

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…

Article - 05/01/2015

Protein foils for sausages and seeds

Sausage casings made of collagen can be used as an alternative to natural intestine casings as they give a similar sensation when biting into knockwursts or boiled sausages. Scientists involved in the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research funded project "Biotechnological process development for novel membranes based on collagen", are seeking to optimise the process of collagen processing using environmentally friendly…

Article - 29/09/2014

Andrei Lupas – fascination for the complex world of proteins

Prof. Dr. Andrei Lupas is a molecular biologist and director of the Department of Protein Evolution at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Developmental Biology in Tübingen. He became fascinated by the incredible complexity of proteins early on during his scientific career. His work focuses on the use of laboratory and computational methods to solve the question as to how a simple amino acid chain becomes a protein ‘nanomachine’. Lupas and his…

Article - 19/05/2014

Amedrix establishes new collagen and implant production technology

Amedrix GmbH, which is based in the Life Science Center in Esslingen and currently has a staff of eight people, develops innovative acellular medical products on the basis of animal collagen. The company's ChondroFiller products have the advantage over existing cartilage treatment options such as microfracture surgery, OCT (osteochondral transplant) surgery or ACT (autologous chondrocyte transplantation) in that they can be produced without…

Article - 31/12/2012

siRNA for the regeneration of tissue and nerves

Regenerative medicine is increasingly making use of siRNA to turn off proteins that prevent the application of regenerative therapies. Researchers at the NMI in Reutlingen develop siRNA technologies that have the potential to prevent the development of fibroses, the encapsulation of implants and improve the regeneration of nerves.

Article - 23/01/2012

Peter Rodemann – a career in radiobiology

Prof. Dr. H. Peter Rodemann has been head of the Division of Radiobiology and Molecular Environmental Research at Tübingen University Hospital for around 20 years. He has been awarded numerous prizes for his outstanding achievements, particularly during the second half of 2011 when he was awarded the Ulrich Hagen Prize by the German Society for Biological Radiation Research as well as being elected member of the German Academy of Sciences…

Article - 25/07/2011

Silke Brüderlein has “green fingers” for cell cultures

Many researchers in the biosciences work with cell cultures, but not all of them seem to understand them at a deeper level. The biologist Silke Brüderlein from the Institute of Pathology in Ulm is a specialist in cell culture and is well aware of the problems that might arise when working with cell cultures.

Article - 04/07/2011

Gingiva grown in Petri dishes

We use teeth to break down food and gum disease is the major cause of tooth loss. Our teeth are firmly anchored in the jaw bone and surrounded and supported by the gum (gingiva), one of the five types of tissue that make up the human periodontium. A complex interplay of biomolecules maintains homoeostasis, i.e. the natural balance, in the gum tissue. A team of researchers led by Prof. Dr. Pascal Tomakidi from the Freiburg University Medical…

Press release - 03/04/2011

A vision of the future: whole-heart tissue engineering

Scientists from the Department of Cardiac Surgery at the Heidelberg University Hospital have developed a bioreactor to produce a new heart from a patient’s own heart cells. The reactor mirrors the internal conditions of the human body. For example, the medium with the patient’s cells is pumped into the developing organ via small pulses that mirror the human heartbeat.

Press release - 23/11/2010

Viscofan BioEngineering: Cell culture inserts with a collagen membrane

Viscofan BioEngineering is the first company to market cell culture inserts for the cultivation of cells and tissues that are entirely made from collagen. In contrast to traditional PTFE membranes, Viscofan´s cell culture inserts do not need to be coated with collagen prior to use. The new collagen inserts are extremely suitable for the cultivation of adherent primary cells such as cardiomyocytes, neurons, fibroblasts, cell lines, stem cells as…

Article - 18/10/2010

A chip to support three-dimensional tissue culture

The KITChip developed by researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT improves the three-dimensional self-organisation of cells by enabling the active flow and circulation of the cell culture media. Using smart microtechnical methods the scientists are able to adapt the microenvironment of cell types to their specific requirements which leads to specific cellular behaviour and development.

On 26th May 2010, Viscofan BioEngineering announced that it has entered into a 2-year cooperation with the Department of Urology at the University Hospital of Tübingen. Under the terms of the agreement, the company’s “Collagen Cell Carrier” (CCC) will be evaluated in in vitro and pre-clinical models for its suitability as a scaffold for urothelial cells and subsequently as an urological implant. The goal of the cooperation is to enable the use of…

Article - 30/04/2010

Silke Hofmann: Why does our body sometimes fight its own skin?

The skin is the largest organ in the human body. It is not known why the immune system sometimes forms autoantibodies against it. This process can lead to blistering diseases such as pemphigus or bullous pemphigoid. Dr. Silke Hofmann from the Department of Dermatology at the University of Freiburg is investigating the molecular mechanisms that lead to such diseases. As she finds dermatology a very fascinating subject she does not restrict herself…

Press release - 25/01/2010

Amedrix GmbH - New investment paves the way for own production operations

The High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and Life Science Fonds Esslingen are jointly investing a total of 700,000 EUR in Amedrix GmbH, which was founded in January 2009. The Esslingen-based company develops innovative, acellular medical products based on animal collagen for wound regeneration and the reconstruction of degenerated soft tissue, for example. The new investment means that necessary steps can be taken to gain approval for first medical…

Press release - 14/07/2009

Amedrix GmbH - Successful cell-free products

The cell biologist Dr. Thomas Graeve has founded Amedrix GmbH in Esslingen. In future, the company will develop and produce innovative, cell-free medical products based on animal collagen for the purpose of wound regeneration and the reconstruction of degenerated soft tissue, for example.

Article - 20/04/2009

Anita Ignatius makes biomaterials smart

Anita Ignatius is not interested in knowledge just for the sake of knowledge. “I have always been interested in the practical application of knowledge,” said the 45-year-old veterinarian. Highly theoretical courses she had to attend during her studies put an end to her dreams of opening her own practice after university. But this experience also had its advantages, because it helped her realise what she really wanted – namely doing research of…

Article - 05/04/2009

JOTEC – artificial blood vessel specialist

JOTEC GmbH a medical device company based in Hechingen has a broad range of solutions on offer for the therapy of vascular diseases including artificial blood vessels and stentgrafts and is an international leader in this field. The company not only produces traditional vascular grafts from high-quality plastics but also absorbable bioartificial vascular grafts and cell-coated grafts made from biomaterials. Such an approach is currently unique in…

A fully automated process is set to improve the production of artificial tissue medical scientists can perform transplants with skin produced in the laboratory. This tissue is also suitable for testing chemicals at a low cost without requiring animal experiments.

For three days from 9 to 11 October more than 300 scientists from over 20 countries met at the Haus der Wirtschaft in Stuttgart to discuss the current state of research the latest product developments and therapies in regenerative medicine and stem cell research.

Researchers have developed a method that enables them to culture lymphatic vessels under laboratory conditions. The goal of the project is to gain a better understanding of how new lymphatic vessels are formed a process known as lymphangiogenesis.

Almost half of the veins transplanted to restore blood flow in the heart become clogged again within ten years after surgery. Gene therapy pre-treatment of the vein fragments that prevents the muscle cells from entering the vascular wall might decrease the risk of this happening.

The Centre for Regenerative Biology and Medicine ZRM in Tübingen has joined forces with Naturin GmbH based in Weinheim. The partners plan to develop new carrier materials on the basis of collagen which improve cell cultures and medical implants.

Nycomed grants Baxter International Inc. NYSE BAX exclusive rights to market and distribute Nycomeds TachoSil patch in the United States. The agreement is part of Nycomeds strategy to seek marketing and commercialisation partnerships for the US market instead of operating its own sales force.