Healthcare industry

Multiple sclerosis - 12/03/2020

Direct application of biopharmaceuticals through the nose into the brain

There is currently no cure for multiple sclerosis, the most common neurological autoimmune disease in humans. Biopharmaceuticals that can delay the course of the disease or diminish its effects are often prevented from being fully effective by the blood-brain barrier. A European consortium led by the Fraunhofer IGB, Stuttgart is developing a new technology that can transport an innovative active ingredient directly to the central nervous system.

Article - 06/11/2017

HEIDELTEC: gummy bears may replace injections

Peptide- and protein-based drugs like those used for treating diabetes, cancer and autoimmune diseases cannot be administered orally. This is because these biomolecules degrade in the gastrointestinal tract, thus preventing them from reaching their target site in the body. Protein- and peptide-base drugs therefore have to be administered by way of injection, which is comparatively complicated and painful. However, a start-up company called…

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…

Company profile - 09/01/2017

Novaliq to develop innovative eye drop products

A remedy is now available for people suffering from dry eye disease. Novaliq GmbH, a specialty pharmaceuticals company from Heidelberg, has developed a highly innovative technology platform for producing innovative drugs to eliminate common eye conditions that cause itching, burning and a feeling of pressure on the eye. The new drug delivery platform not only opens up groundbreaking new prospects for ophthalmology, but also for dermatology.

Article - 13/09/2016

Catalent – galenics experts from Schorndorf

Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are working intensively on the discovery and development of new drugs for the efficient and safe treatment of diseases. However, before drugs are authorised for treating humans and animals, they have to be made into a form that is acceptable. That is where a company called Catalent Pharma Solutions, with a facility in Schorndorf in the south of Germany, comes in.

Article - 02/08/2016

Can the ticking Huntington clock be stopped?

An early phase clinical study involving thirty-six Huntington’s disease (HD) patients is currently underway to investigate whether a method called gene silencing can cure the disease. If the gene that causes the disease can be turned off, it would be the first step towards a treatment that not only fights symptoms but actually treats the causes of HD, hence providing a cure.

Article - 21/07/2016

New anticancer drugs – hop compounds have the potential to treat cancer

Secondary hop compounds appear to have a positive effect on the immune system and therefore have the potential to be used for the treatment and prevention of cancer. However, the bioavailability of hop compounds in the human body is relatively poor. Researchers from Hohenheim and Tübingen are therefore looking for a way to increase their absorption rate.

Article - 02/05/2016

Biopolymers – raw materials for innovative medical products

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are biodegradable biopolymers that are becoming increasingly important. Bioplastics are now used not only in everyday objects such as plastic bags and yogurt pots but also increasingly in the field of medicine, which is why intensive research into medical devices made from biodegradable polymers such as PHA has been going on for quite some time.

Article - 04/04/2016

An intelligent system for the storage and controlled release of pharmaceutical substances

A sophisticated reservoir that sits under the skin and dispenses precise quantities of drugs locally and at a particular point in time now exists. A junior research group from the University of Freiburg’s BrainLinks-BrainTools excellence cluster led by Dr. Maria Asplund and her doctoral student Christian Böhler from the Department of Microsystems Engineering (IMTEK) has developed a small storage system made of organic-inorganic hybrid material…

Article - 15/02/2016

Bacteria – a treasure box for genetic engineers

Bacteria have developed a versatile defence system to protect themselves against viral infections. One of these defence tools, known as CRISPR/Cas9 system, is currently hogging the headlines as it promises to revolutionise the way genetic material can be modified. Prof. Rolf Backofen from the Institute of Bioinformatics at the University of Freiburg has managed to classify the defence system of all bacterial species sequenced to date. This will…

Article - 25/01/2016

And yet another biological from Biberach

Boehringer Ingelheim is an important contract manufacturer of biopharmaceuticals that also produces proprietary drugs. We spoke with Dr. Joanne van Ryn, a Canadian pharmacologist who has been doing research at Boehringer Ingelheim’s company site in Biberach for over 20 years. Her research focuses on thrombosis, haemostasis and coagulation. She is involved in the scientific monitoring of dabigatran (Pradaxa), an oral anticoagulant that, in 2008,…

Article - 26/11/2015

Chrystelle Mavoungou: how students get to the heart of the drug discovery process

Chrystelle Mavoungou is a chemist who teaches regulatory affairs and quality in pharmaceutical production at the Biberach University of Applied Sciences’ Faculty of Biotechnology. While the public might consider these issues difficult to deal with, students and early career pharmaceutical biotechnologists quickly learn that issues like these take them right to the heart of the drug discovery process.

Article - 05/10/2015

Nanoparticles make eye drops more effective

Drops are a common way of applying drugs for treating a wide of range of eye diseases. Most of us have used eye drops at least once in our lives, but we are not usually aware that even if the drops are applied correctly, only one percent of the drug reaches the eye. The rest is flushed out by eyelid movement or with tear fluid. So very high drug concentrations are needed, and the downside of this is that it can cause substantial adverse effects.…

Article - 22/06/2015

Through the nose directly into the brain: Biberach researchers are working on a novel way to apply pharmaceuticals

The blood-brain barrier prevents most drugs, and large biologics in particular, from entering the brain. This physiological barrier impairs the study of central nervous system (CNS) diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis as well as the development of drugs. However, there is a hidden side entrance to the brain, which means that there is a way to circumvent this barrier.

The latest articles, press releases and dossiers on pharmaceutics in Baden-Württemberg

Article - 03/03/2014

Taking a drug taxi across the blood-brain barrier

The central nervous system CNS which integrates the information it receives from all parts of the body is perhaps the most sensitive organ we have. As toxic compounds are able to disturb brain function enormously the brain is separated from circulating blood by a highly selective permeability barrier known as the blood-brain barrier. However the downside of this protection is that 98 percent of all drugs targeting the CNS cannot pass the barrier.…

Article - 03/02/2014

Verapido Medical GmbH: small needles with a huge effect

Verapido Medical GmbH is a medical device company based in Villingen-Schwenningen (Germany) that develops and manufactures devices with which liquid drugs can be administered intradermally, i.e. into the skin rather than below the skin. The company’s microneedle technology looks to have several advantages over existing drug delivery methods, including better effect, less pain for the patient and lower costs.

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…

Press release - 16/11/2010

Nycomed is keeping the pace in third quarter 2010 - US Food & Drug Administration to decide on the approval of Daxas®

Nycomed’s strategy of focusing on emerging markets and specialty products is paying off. The third quarter results shows that the sales of Key Products and in emerging markets are continuing to help offset the impact from the loss of exclusivity of pantoprazole. Daxas® (roflumilast) has recently been launched in the first EU markets and further launches are underway over the coming months. To accelerate the expansion in China, one of the fastest…

Press release - 29/04/2010

Nycomed and Merck & Co., Inc., announce commercialization agreements for Daxas® in Europe and Canada

Nycomed and Merck Co. Inc. based in Whitehouse Station New Jersey and known as MSD outside the USA and Canada announced that they have entered into a co-promotion agreement for Canada and certain European countries for the commercialization of Daxas roflumilast an investigational once-daily tablet for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD.

Press release - 20/04/2009

Help for coronary vessel constrictions – Tübingen cardiologists have developed an alternative to drug eluting stents

Prof. Christian Herdeg at the University Hospital of Tübingen has developed an alternative approach for intracoronary pharmacotherapy for the treatment of patients with constricted coronary vessels. Localised drug delivery using special catheters is far superior to the use of uncoated stents and is also a way of avoiding the disadvantages of coated i.e. drug eluting stents. On 16th April 2009 the new method was awarded a prize at a meeting of the…

Nycomed and its licence holder Wyeth Pharmaceuticals a division of Wyeth NYSEWYE today announced the U.S. launch of an own generic version of PROTONIX Pantoprazole tablets in response to the at-risk launch of generic Pantoprazole tablets by Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.