Healthcare industry

Press release - 12/11/2012

GATC Biotech joins a new EU research network for young researchers

Seven European research institutions and GATC Biotech have formed a consortium providing cutting-edge training in the scientific study of the human past. The BEAN (Bridging the European and Anatolian Neolithic) Initial Training Network has been awarded four years of funding from the European Commission through the Marie Curie Actions program. It is a new multinational and multidisciplinary Marie Curie Research initiative exploring the origins of…

Dossier - 28/08/2018

With molecular diagnostics to biomarker-based personalised therapy

Diagnosing suitable biomarkers is a prerequisite for tailoring personalised therapies to patient heterogeneity. Genetic tests and genome sequencing play a key role in these diagnoses. Up until now, personalised therapy has achieved the greatest success in the field of oncology. However, personalised treatments are also gaining in importance for treating other diseases.

Since the 1st March 2008 the Department of Diagnostic Radiology at the University Hospital in Heidelberg has a new medical director Professor Dr. Hans-Ulrich Kauczor 45 succeeds Professor Dr. Günter Kauffmann.

Press release - 28/09/2012

Safer, more effective and innovative medical devices

Ranging from simple sticking plasters to the most sophisticated life-supporting machines medical devices and in vitro diagnostic medical devices are central to our health and quality of life. To ensure that these devices serve the needs and ensure the safety of European citizens the European Commission proposed two Regulations which are fit for purpose more transparent and better adapted to scientific and technological progress.

Article - 10/03/2009

When neurones lose their way

Dr. Deborah Morris-Rosendahl and her team at the Freiburg Medical School are investigating genetic cephalic disorders which are collectively referred to as lissencephaly. The scientists offer clinical diagnostics and investigate the causes of the disease.

Article - 25/10/2010

Angelika Rück visualises the dance of molecules

Angelika Rück measures the luminescence time of molecules in order to find out whether proteins are speaking with each other. She hopes that she will soon be able to differentiate inflammation from tumours. Rück who is head of microscopy at the Ulm-based ILM has worked hard with her colleagues to make the Eselsberg-based Ulm University location one of southern Germanys leading life cell imaging centres.

Dossier - 20/09/2010

Neurodegenerative diseases

It is estimated that around 1.2 million people in Germany suffer from dementia, and around 200,000 people are diagnosed with neurodegenerative diseases every year. It is expected that by 2050, one in three people in Germany will be over 60 and the number of age-related diseases, particularly dementias, for which no effective curative therapy is currently available, will increase considerably. Given the large numbers of elderly people and…

To ensure that sepsis patients receive appropriate antibiotics as quickly as possible, Fraunhofer IGB researchers have developed a diagnostic procedure that uses high-throughput sequencing of blood samples and delivers results much faster than conventional culture-based techniques. Thanks to the latest single-molecule sequencing techniques, this process has now been further improved so that pathogens can be identified after just a few hours.

Article - 10/03/2021

Faster to single cells using miniature grinder

Tissue cells are needed for medical diagnostics, cell therapies and tissue engineering, among other things. A novel tissue grinder gently and automatically dissociates cells from tissue. In November 2020, the newly founded biotech company Fast Forward Discoveries GmbH (FFX) delivered its first tissue grinders to customers.

Article - 21/01/2016

Genome research as information research

DNA sequencing has become indispensable in modern science. Innovative advances that will bring about changes in the life sciences and medicine are due to rapid developments in genome analysis technologies. In the interview below, Peter Pohl, CEO and co-founder of GATC Biotech AG, explains why DNA sequencing will become even more important in future.

Press release - 26/01/2010

MicroTEC Südwest convinces in the second round of the BMBF’s Leading Edge Cluster competition

The winners of the second round of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research’s (BMBF) Leading Edge Cluster competition have now been selected. On 26th January 2010, the chairman of the jury, Prof. Dr. Andreas Barner (spokesperson for the Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH Management Board), and the German Research Minister, Prof. Dr. Annette Schavan, announced in Berlin which of the ten finalists of the highly lucrative Leading Edge Cluster…

Article - 19/08/2013

The Heidelberg practice of whole-genome sequencing

After two years’ work, scientists from Heidelberg have now presented their opinion on the ethical and legal consequences of the total sequencing of the human genome. The paper presents principles and practical recommendations aimed at maintaining the balance between the wellbeing and interests of patients on the one hand and the freedom of research and clinical progress on the other.

Spindiag GmbH, together with the University of Freiburg and the Hahn-Schickard-Gesellschaft für angewandte Forschung e.V., was awarded the Technology Transfer Prize 2020 from the German Physical Society (DPG) on April 09, 2022 for the development of the PCR-based rapid test system Rhonda.

Press release - 18/04/2012

immatics appoints Dr. Rainer Kramer as Chief Business Officer

immatics biotechnologies GmbH, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutic vaccines that are active against cancer, today announced the appointment of Dr. Rainer Kramer as Chief Business Officer (CBO) with immediate effect. In this newly created role, Dr. Kramer will lead immatics’ Business Development Unit in order to create optimal value from the Company’s pipeline of therapeutic cancer vaccines.

Article - 09/08/2010

Quick and early detection of rare diseases

Lysosomal storage diseases LSD are a group of around 50 rare inherited metabolic disorders. Only 12 LSDs have been described biochemically and microbiologically. Prof. Dr. Michael Przybylski from the Steinbeis Transfer Centre for Biopolymer Analysis and Proteomics at the University of Constance now hopes to change this situation. In a project carried out in cooperation with the biotech company Genzyme CEE Konstanz and the University of Timisoara…

GATC, one of the leading sequencing provider will be a part of the Eurofins Group as of July 2017 to create the leading company in the worldwide sequencing market.

To diagnose an infection with the coronavirus, usually a throat swab is taken and genetic viral material detected by using a highly sensitive PCR. To date, more than 65 million of these tests have been performed in Germany alone. Due to the massive increase in testing worldwide and simultaneous loss of production, there was a significant shortage of test materials in the early stage of the pandemic.

Article - 31/12/2012

Diagnosis of myocardial infarction: a drop of blood is all that is required

Can myocardial infarction be diagnosed with a single drop of blood? The answer is yes: a new application of the ESEQuant Lateral Flow System developed by QIAGEN now makes this possible. The system, which is able to identify a broad range of bacterial and viral pathogens, including HIV, influenza virus and Chlamydia, was originally developed at the company’s site in Stockach. It has recently been adapted for use in the diagnosis of myocardial…

Pharmaceutical research and life sciences profit from unique biosensor technology - 18/09/2015

Biametrics GmbH concludes financing round with 3.1 Million Euro

Biametrics GmbH today announced the completion of their most recent financing round with €3.1 Million. Partners of the A Series Investment were LBBW Venture GmbH, MBG Mittelständische Beteiligungsgesellschaft BW, and KfW Bankengruppe. Together with seed investors HTGF and Seedfonds BW, they are aiming to accelerate the expansion of Biametrics’ bioanalytical business activities to an international level. The fresh capital will facilitate the…

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an agency of the World Health Organization (WHO), will soon publish the first edition of its classification of childhood cancers. The new WHO classification forms the basis of modern, precise cancer diagnostics for physicians and pediatric oncologists worldwide and is based on the latest international research findings.

The High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and two private investors are convinced of the importance of single-cell isolation for the production of biopharmaceuticals and for genetic analysis in research and diagnostics. EUR 3 million will be invested in the further development of the technology, the expansion of the sales organization and in opening up further applications for Cytena’s single-cell printers.

Article - 12/12/2011

Rheumatoid arthritis biomarkers

A plethora of biomarkers is available for the early diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis and associated tissue damage and disorders. In addition, new biomarkers that improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients suffering from this common destructive autoimmune disease are constantly being discovered.

The German Research Foundation will continue to fund the Transregional Collaborative Research Centre Inflammatory Cardiomyopathy - Molecular Pathogenesis and Therapy for another four years with a total of 10 million euros. The Department of Cardiology of the University Hospital of Tübingen will also become part of the SFB.

"Faster Development of Safer Medicines through Translational Safety Biomarkers": On September 14, 2009, the Safer And Faster Evidence-based Translation (SAFE-T) consortium project under the EU Innovative Medicines Initiative - Joint Undertaking (IMI-JU) was presented at the EUROTOX 2009 conference in Dresden. The consortium announces the start of work to qualify biomarkers for drug-induced kidney, liver and vascular injury in…

Press release - 10/03/2011

Novel High-Resolution Methods in Fluorescence Microscopy

Heidelberg scientists have developed a new method by which the physical limits in high-resolution light microscopy can be overcome with the aid of chemical reactions. The scientists replaced light-dependent processes by chemical reactions for light-independent switching of fluorescent probes to mark cellular structures for high-resolution optical microscopy. This method opens up new application vistas for fluorescence microscopy.