Healthcare industry

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Atriva Therapeutics GmbH, a biopharmaceutical company pioneering the development of host-targeting antiviral therapies, concluded a €24 million financing agreement today to facilitate the company’s development and clinical testing of a novel therapy treating severe respiratory infections with RNA viruses. RNA viruses cause diseases such as influenza, SARS and COVID-19.

Atriva Therapeutics GmbH, a biopharmaceutical company pioneering the development of host-targeting antiviral therapies, today announced the closing of a € 8.6 million ($ 10.2 million) convertible loan led by Meneldor B.V. and High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), and joined by existing shareholders and new German and international investors.

The NMI Reutlingen is currently tackling a major problem associated with antibody tests for the detection of COVID-19: false positive test results.

Heidelberg Technology Park - 05/05/2020

Start-up support for life sciences companies

How can scientists turn their know-how into marketable products and services and thereby provide society with real added value? In addition to solid financing, start-up companies need a suitable infrastructure and a dense network of partners for exchanging expertise to help them get off to a good start when it comes to setting up a business. The Heidelberg Technology Park offers company founders in the life sciences exactly these success factors.

The European Commission has found Luxembourg's €300 million scheme to support companies affected by the coronavirus outbreak to be in line with EU State aid rules. The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Framework to support the economy in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak adopted by the Commission on 19 March 2020.

Velabs Therapeutics GmbH, a leader in rapid screening of functional therapeutic antibodies, today announced the closing of a €3 million Series B financing round to advance its functional antibody screening programme and to strengthen its own pipeline of preclinical functional antibodies against diseases with poor treatment options. Further details of the financing round were not disclosed.

Spindiag, a young medtech company in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, announced today the expanded financing of its first Series A. Based on a proprietary microfluidic technology first researched at the company’s mother institute Hahn-Schickard, Spindiag is developing a sustainable platform to diagnose infections and, as a first product, a rapid test for multidrug-resistant bacteria.

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.

Press release - 28/01/2019

5,5 millions for project on smart matrices for knee cartilage repair

A research project in cartilage regeneration, in which the Institute of Orthopaedic Research and Biomechanics at Ulm University participates together with partners from eight european countries, was recently financed by the European Commission with 5.5 million Euro. Named RESTORE, the project aims to create 3D matrices incorporating smart nanomaterials to repair knee cartilage lesions thereby reducing or delaying the onset of osteoarthritis,…

One year after its seed financing, SpinDiag GmbH closes a second financing round of EUR 3 million (USD 3.4 million) as planned. The financing will enable SpinDiag to complete the product development of its first product for screening for antibiotic-resistant bacteria and to start clinical trials. This will pave the way for regulatory approval in the EU.

Industry report 2018 - 27/09/2018

The healthcare industry – the innovation driver of the 21st century: opportunities and challenges

BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg’s new industry report entitled "The Healthcare Industry 2018: Facts and Figures for Baden-Württemberg" has just been published in both German and English. The topic neatly dovetails with the state’s political activities. An evaluation of the region carried out on behalf of the Baden-Württemberg government has clearly recognised the importance of the healthcare sector as a driver of innovation.

Affimed will receive $96 million upfront and committed funding and is eligible for up to an additional $5.0 billion including milestone payments, and royalties on sales.

Company profile - 31/07/2018

Acousia Therapeutics: medicines for deafness

Deafness is one of the most common sensory disorders in the world: in Germany alone, around eleven million people suffer from hearing loss. So far there is no real therapy, the symptoms can only be alleviated to a greater or lesser degree. This is what researchers from the Tübingen-based company Acousia Therapeutics want to change: they have identified drug candidates that can protect sensory hair cells and support their function.

Baden-Württemberg, the state of inventors and thinkers, is one of the leading economic regions in Germany and Europe thanks to an economic landscape that incorporates many small- and medium-sized businesses. The state’s innovative strength is partly based on the scientific excellence of university and non-university research institutions and innovative companies, and partly on its attractiveness as a base for creating and developing companies.…

SHS Gesellschaft für Beteiligungsmanagement has received capital commitments of over €90 million in its fifth fund's first closing. The fifth generation of SHS funds is also focused on the life sciences and medical technology sector, and thus on the growing global healthcare market with innovative and strong players, especially in Germany and Switzerland.

Article - 16/05/2018

Telemedical neurology council helps speed up stroke treatment

Stroke units save lives because specialist treatment is absolutely crucial for stroke patients. However, not all clinics have neurological specialists available 24/7, so telemedicine provides a good solution to the problem. Studies show that telemedical consultations can considerably improve the treatment of stroke patients.

Article - 14/03/2018

Patent versus publication: setting up start-ups in the sciences

When it comes to universities as start-up incubators, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the USA is often used as a prime example of entrepreneurial impact. Well over 100 high-tech spin-offs have been set up in the vicinity of the renowned university. Many German universities also offer attractive conditions for scientists with an entrepreneurial spirit.

Article - 08/03/2018

Investors wanted: can crowdfunding get the electric walking frame up and running?

If e-bikes make getting around easier, why shouldn't it be possible to apply the same principle to walking frames? That's exactly the question that three young company founders from Stuttgart asked, which led to the development of an electric walking frame called ello. This new walking frame allows users to cope with gradients and kerbs easily and without too much effort.

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.

Article - 07/12/2017

GoSilico: a formula for the industrial purification of biomolecules

“Stop experimenting – GoSilico” is the motto of a young start-up company from Karlsruhe. The founding team of GoSilico GmbH is causing a furore with a simulation software that would make many laboratory experiments obsolete. The chromatographic separation of biomolecules from organisms, samples and cell cultures can be reliably simulated after just a few starter experiments. This saves time, work, material and costs in pharmaceutical development.

Tuebingen, Germany and Houston, Texas, October 4, 2017 – Immatics, a leading company in the field of cancer immunotherapy, today announced the completion of its Series E financing, raising $58 million.

The next generation of Antiviral Therapies: Co-Led by Stichting Participatie Atriva and High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), Atriva Therapeutics GmbH has received a second tranche of its running seed financing in total of € 3 Mn from Dutch, German and Canadian investors, after lead compound ATR-002 (Atriva’s antiviral MEK-Inhibitor against Influenza) has passed an important preclinical milestone paving the way to clinical development stage.

Company profile - 04/09/2017

Mireca: a new drug for stopping the progression of eye diseases

A team of researchers from several EU countries has developed a new drug that stops the progression of hereditary retinal diseases. The project partners founded a company called Mireca Medicines GmbH in the city of Tübingen to bring the drug to market.

Article - 24/07/2017

Cancer medicine development as a science and industry partnership

The German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and Bayer AG are collaborating on a strategic partnership focusing on the development of innovative cancer therapies. The two partners have developed an active substance which selectively blocks a mutation of a metabolic enzyme that occurs in certain types of cancer. The substance has been successfully tested in preclinical studies and is now also being tested in a clinical trial on patients with brain…