Article - 19/11/2015 Immune cells are reprogrammed in Alzheimer’s brains Scientists from the Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research at the University of Tübingen are pursuing an innovative treatment approach for Alzheimer’s disease using immune cells to eliminate the protein deposits that are the hallmark of Alzheimer’s. Dr. Jonas Neher and his team tested whether exchanging brain-specific immune cells with fresh, more active cells has a positive effect on the disease. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/immune-cells-are-reprogrammed-in-alzheimers-brains
Article - 04/11/2015 DNA capture molecules wanted for cells Artificial blood vessels made of special polymers are no longer a pipedream. However, one problem that needs to be solved is that the artificial vessels have to be compatible with tissue. One solution could be to dupe the body into thinking that the artificial vessels are real by coating their inside walls with the patient’s own cells. Researchers from Reutlingen have developed a microfluidic chip that identifies molecules that can capture the…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/dna-capture-molecules-wanted-for-cells
Vaccine development - 02/11/2015 A new vaccine could prevent influenza epidemics Influenza pandemics are dangerous and can claim many lives. Children and the elderly in particular run a high risk of developing influenza-related complications, because their immune system is often weakened by the virus. In Germany, annual vaccination against seasonal influenza has therefore been recommended for these target groups for quite a few years now. However, producing vaccines is costly and time-consuming. Researchers at the University…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/a-new-vaccine-could-prevent-influenza-epidemics
Article - 06/07/2015 Using mosses to produce medicines Human disease can be treated with substances from traditional medicinal plants or with molecular pharming products. Molecular pharming uses genetic engineering techniques to insert genes into plants or animals that would otherwise not express these genes. These transgenics can then be used to produce therapeutic proteins such as antibodies. Dr. Eva Decker from the University of Freiburg and her team have now successfully produced a key protein of…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/using-mosses-to-produce-medicines
Article - 11/05/2015 How Lactobacillus bacteria fight Candida albicans infections Fungal infections of skin and mucous membranes are relatively common. Around 75 percent of the human population lives with Candida albicans, a fungus that has no harmful effects in people with an intact immune system that can fight off systemic infections. However, in people with immune systems that have been weakened by antibiotics or radiotherapy for example C. albicans infections can lead to sepsis which may even be life-threatening. Prof. Dr.…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/how-lactobacillus-bacteria-fight-candida-albicans-infections
Overview Basic research The latest articles, press releases and dossiers on basic research in Baden-Württemberghttps://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/research
Overview Red biotechnology The latest articles, press releases and dossiers on red biotechnology in Baden-Württemberghttps://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/biotech
Overview Pharmaceutics The latest articles, press releases and dossiers on pharmaceutics in Baden-Württemberghttps://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/pharma
Dossier - 13/04/2015 Boosting the immune system can improve cancer prevention and treatment The activation of the body’s immune system to fight cancer is not only a promising therapeutic concept, but is already used in medical practice. The first immunotherapies have been approved and many more are either in the experimental stages or already undergoing clinical testing. Vaccines to prevent certain types of cancer are already being used successfully around the world.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/boosting-the-immune-system-can-improve-cancer-prevention-and-treatment
Press release - 01/04/2015 Migrating immune cells promote nerve cell demise in the brain The slow death of dopamine-producing nerve cells in a certain region of the brain is the principal cause underlying Parkinson's disease. In mice, it is possible to simulate the symptoms of this disease using a substance that selectively kills dopamine-producing neurons. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now shown for the first time in mouse experiments that after this treatment, cells of the peripheral immune…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/migrating-immune-cells-promote-nerve-cell-demise-in-the-brain
Article - 30/03/2015 How psychological stress weakens the immune system Too much stress makes you sick – this is the widely held opinion. But exactly how chronic psychological stress affects our body is not yet fully understood. This is the question Dr. Annette Sommershof and her team from the University of Konstanz are trying to answer. The scientists are exploring stress-related changes in the immune system and have found evidence for the observation that long-term stress weakens the immune system, resulting in…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/how-psychological-stress-weakens-the-immune-system
Article - 09/03/2015 Treating cancer by activating the immune system Vaccines that prevent infection with cancer-causing viruses are already available. Moreover, the development of therapeutic vaccines for the treatment of a number of other cancers is well under way. These vaccines not only prevent the development of cancer, but also treat early stages of cancer. Antigen-armed antibodies have long been used in vaccines against infectious diseases, and can now also be used for treating cancer. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/treating-cancer-by-activating-the-immune-system
Press release - 06/03/2015 The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation invests €46 million in CureVac The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and CureVac announced that the foundation has made a commitment to invest €46 million in CureVac, a leading clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in mRNA-based vaccine technologies. As part of the agreement, the foundation will also provide separate funding for several projects to develop prophylactic vaccines based on CureVac’s proprietary messenger RNA platform. In addition, CureVac’s…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/the-bill-melinda-gates-foundation-invests-46-million-in-curevac
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…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/therapeutic-vaccines-against-brain-tumours
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.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/joining-forces-to-develop-anti-cancer-immunotherapies
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…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/pooling-efforts-against-infectious-diseases-in-germany
Article - 22/12/2014 The immune system – both weak and overreactive in the absence of CTLA4 The ability to recognise a pathogen and combat it effectively is certainly one of the most complex and sophisticated processes the human body has evolved. People with an immunodeficiency or autoimmune disease may have a genetic defect in one of the genes involved in the immune response. Working with immunologists from London scientists Desire Schubert and Prof. Dr. Bodo Grimbacher from the Centre for Chronic Immunodeficiency CCI at the Freiburg…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/the-immune-system-both-weak-and-overreactive-in-the-absence-of-ctla4
Article - 15/12/2014 From HIV structure to new AIDS therapies The building blocks of the viral protein capsid are rearranged as HI viruses mature into infectious AIDS-causing agents. Researchers from Heidelberg have made these structural changes visible on the molecular level. The findings could potentially be used for developing much-needed new AIDS therapeutics.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/from-hiv-structure-to-new-aids-therapies
Article - 24/11/2014 Lipid zipper triggers bacterial invasion Millions of people die each year from infections both in developing and industrial countries. There is still no effective treatment for a large number of diseases caused by pathogens. In order to treat infectious diseases effectively, we need to understand the mechanisms that bacteria use to infect human cells. The cytoskeleton of the host cell usually plays a key role in this process. Researchers at the University of Freiburg have discovered a…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/lipid-zipper-triggers-bacterial-invasion
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.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/orphan-drug-status-for-synovo-s-immune-modulator-syd003
Article - 20/10/2014 Michael Schindler: HI virus and host interactions Prof. Dr. Michael Schindler explores the interaction between viruses and their human host cells on the molecular level. His specific interest is HI virus infections and the mechanisms the virus uses to attack the human immune system. Schindler’s eventual aim is to identify a new target for the therapy of HIV infections. In April 2014, Schindler was appointed head of the Department of Molecular Virology of Human Infectious Diseases at the…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/michael-schindler-hi-virus-and-host-interactions
Article - 08/09/2014 Thomas Boehm – pushing back the frontiers of knowledge The comparison of different animal species enables us to understand the crucial principle of immune defence on condition that the right investigative approach is chosen. Prof. Dr. Thomas Boehm director of the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg has been doing just this for many years. Based on insights into fundamental immune system functions Boehms research is aimed at developing new strategies for the diagnosis…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/thomas-boehm-pushing-back-the-frontiers-of-knowledge
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.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/vaximm-vaccines-that-impede-cancer-growth
Article - 24/03/2014 Vaccine against papillomaviruses protects from skin cancer Papillomaviruses are thought to cause non-melanoma skin cancer in people exposed to UV radiation, especially those who have suppressed immune systems. Researchers from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the Charité University Hospital in Berlin have developed a vaccine that protects mice against such skin tumours. The vaccine is even effective in mice that have previously been infected with papillomaviruses and that have suppressed…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/vaccine-against-papillomaviruses-protects-from-skin-cancer
Dossier - 10/03/2014 Cancer therapy and cancer diagnostics Thanks to improved diagnostics and therapy, today’s cancer patients can live considerably longer than patients several years ago. Nevertheless, some cancers, especially the strongly metastatic ones, are difficult to treat. Therapies targeting immune cells or cancer stem cells could potentially improve the current situation. The early detection and classification of tumours is crucial for the successful treatment of the disease, and molecular…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/cancer-therapy-and-cancer-diagnostics