Healthcare industry

The Chemical Biology graduate school at Constance University was officially opened on 7th May 2008. It was created as part of Germanys excellence initiative and has been training doctoral students since the beginning of April 2008.

At Tübingen University Hospital, a preclinical study led by Dr. Clemens Hinterleitner and Prof. Dr. Lars Zender, Medical Director of Medical Oncology and Pneumology, led to extremely promising results. The research group was able to develop a new methodology that makes it possible to better predict the likelihood of success of immunotherapies for lung cancer.

Press release - 14/03/2012

How a natural antibiotic found in sweat affects microorganisms

The skin creates a barrier between the body and its environment. Natural antibiotics that can kill potential pathogens such as bacteria or fungi represent an additional level of protection by the immune system. Dermcidin one such antibiotic produced in human sweat glands is active against a number of microorganisms on the skin. A team of scientists from the University Hospital Tübingen and the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology were…

Daniel Menichella, CEO of biopharmaceutical company CureVac, was today invited to the White House to discuss strategies and opportunities for the rapid development and production of a coronavirus vaccine with U.S. President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force and high-ranking representatives of pharmaceutical and biotech companies working on the outbreak’s response.

Under certain conditions, our immune system can efficiently fight off infectious diseases and cancer. T cells, especially the gamma delta T cell type, play an important role in this. The issue is that this cell type is extremely infrequent in the human body. Researchers at the University Hospital Tübingen, the University of Heidelberg and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) have now succeeded in finding the cause for the formation of…

In a so-called inactivated or killed vaccine, the virus particles it contains are first rendered inactive by means of the toxic chemical formaldehyde. A better way of achieving this, however, is to irradiate the pathogens with low-energy electrons. Four Fraunhofer Institutes have now developed a new method of vaccine production based on this technique that is not only quicker but also guarantees a higher quality of product.

Press release - 07/08/2009

Hirschsprung’s disease: research into the biological and clinical principles of stem cell therapy

Hirschsprung’s disease is a congenital disease of the intestinal nervous system, which can lead to life-threatening bowel disorders. A new research project, which is being coordinated by the Centre for Regenerative Biology and Medicine (ZRM) in Tübingen, is paving the way for a novel cell therapy. The project is being carried out in co-operation with the NMI in Reutlingen and is being funded by a 1.1-million-euro BMBF-grant.

Interferon-alpha, a messenger substance of the immune system, awakens dormant hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow to become active, thus making them vulnerable for the effect of many drugs. This finding was published in Nature by researchers from the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) jointly with colleagues from Lausanne. The researchers suppose that this might also be a way to stimulate tumor stem…

SolidCAR-T project - 15/03/2022

Modular ‘mini-factories’ for decentralised production of CAR T cells

Novel CAR T-cell therapies have proved to be promising therapeutic options for the treatment of acute leukaemias and lymphomas. Researchers from the Fraunhofer IPA in Stuttgart, the University Hospital Tübingen and the NMI in Reutlingen have joined forces in the SolidCAR-T project that aims to generate CAR T cells to combat solid tumours and produce these cells directly on site in the clinic using automated 'mini-factories'.

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…

Article - 20/09/2016

CRISPR-Cas has more surprises in store

Since 2012, a DFG-funded research group called FOR1680 has been studying CRISPR-Cas, an immune system that unicellular bacteria and arachaea use to protect themselves against attacks from viruses and plasmids. Prof. Dr. Anita Marchfelder, a molecular biologist at Ulm University and coordinator of the FOR1680 research group, and many other researchers were surprised to find that prokaryotes incorporate the genetic material of enemies as a kind of…

Article - 18/02/2013

AIDS researchers from Ulm to shed light on the success of the HIV-1 M group

Frank Kirchhoff AIDS researcher at the University of Ulm has come up with a plausible explanation for the pandemic spread of the human immunodeficiency virus 1 HIV-1 M group and its ability to adapt to the human immune system. In a recent study with colleagues from Germany and abroad Kirchhoff used molecular biology methods to investigate the group and compare it with the relatively rare HIV-1 N group. Kirchhoff hopes that the molecular…

Article - 16/01/2012

Alexander Titz: molecular design to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Pseudomonas aeruginosa has become an important cause of infection, and is often picked up in hospitals, especially by patients with weakened immune systems. It can cause respiratory and urinary tract infections, as well as lead to infections on implants and wounds. P. aeruginosa lives in a gel-like matrix, a so-called biofilm that is highly resistant to antibiotics, making it very difficult to eradicate. Dr. Alexander Titz and his team at the…

Press release - 08/10/2012

Affimed raises € 15.5 million in a Series D financing round

Affimed Therapeutics AG the therapeutic TandAb antibody company announced the successful closing of a Series D financing round of 15.5 million on 8 October 2012. The proceeds from this transaction will be used to fund the clinical development of Affimeds therapeutic pipeline that consists of two TandAb products AFM11 and AFM13. Both candidates have unique properties as shown in preclinical studies.

Press release - 13/11/2012

immatics’ renal cancer vaccine IMA901 completes phase 3 patient recruitment

immatics biotechnologies GmbH announced that it has completed patient recruitment into the pivotal phase 3 trial evaluating its lead cancer vaccine IMA901 for renal cell carcinoma RCC. The first interim overall survival results are expected during the first half of 2014.

Article - 12/11/2012

Autoimmune diseases – when the body sheds its skin

Most people believe that snakes and insects are the only animals able to shed their skin. However autoimmune diseases of the largest human organ i.e. the skin can have a similar effect by creating blisters scars peeling and wet wounds. Dr. Cassian Sitaru from the University of Freiburg Medical Centre specifically focuses on blistering autoimmune dermatoses. Using disease models in Petri dishes and laboratory mice Sitaru and his team hope to find…

Article - 19/09/2019

Magnetised algae as microrobots for medical and environmental purposes

Algae, for most of us, is something that lives in water courses that we occasionally find unpleasant. However, that is to do them a wrong. These extremely versatile and frugal organisms might in future prove to be extremely important. Scientists at the University of Stuttgart are investigating how algae can be used as microrobots in biomedicine and environmental remediation.

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…

International study in which Freiburg scientists are participating maps molecular targets for possible therapy for MERS, SARS-CoV1, and SARS-CoV2.

Press release - 12/03/2009

New strategy for the investigation of haematopoietic stem cells

With the newly developed mouse model irradiation is no longer required. While the mutation in the growth factor receptor Kit KitWWv weakens the recipients stem cell compartment and makes room for the incoming donor cells the other two mutations are known to prevent rejection of donor haematopoietic stem cells by the recipients immune system. Thus these mice appear to accept all blood stem cells regardless of the mouse strain origin of the…

Article - 22/02/2016

Generating malaria parasite gene deletion mutants

The fight against malaria is one of the targets of goal 3 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (ensuring healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages). The research carried out by Prof. Dr. Frischknecht and Mirko Singer from the Centre for Infectious Diseases at Heidelberg University Hospital is one of several steps towards eradicating malaria.

Article - 20/11/2011

Can probiotic lactic acid bacteria protect the intestines against pathogens?

Nutrition scientists from the Max Rubner-Institut MRI in Karlsruhe are investigating how human pathogens and probiotic bacterial strains interact with each other in the human gastrointestinal tract. Are probiotic bacteria in yoghurt or in pickled vegetables for example able to reduce the health risk posed by pathogenic bacteria?

Article - 14/02/2011

A molecule that enables local virus defence

Dr. Markus Mordstein has spent the last four years as a doctoral student at the University of Freiburg investigating the previously relatively unknown interferon lambda. He has been able to show that this molecule has similar protective functions to type I interferons and he has also found that it is far more selective in terms of the site where it exerts its effect.

Article - 04/02/2020

Medicine from the blue blood of marine mollusks

A “living pharmacy” crawls on the ocean floor off the coastline that stretches from Southern California to Mexico: biosyn Arzneimittel GmbH, a pharmaceutical company based in the city of Fellbach in southern Germany, produces a drug to treat bladder cancer, using the haemolymph, a vertebrate fluid equivalent to blood, of Megathura crenulata, commonly known as a giant keyhole limpet.

Press release - 23/05/2011

Interactive exhibition on health opened on Mainau Island

Can neurons grow together again? Is the immune system able to combat cancer? Can a chip help blind people regain their sight? As part of the “Science in Dialogue” (Wissenschaft im Dialog) initiative, the “Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings” foundation has organised an exhibition on health-related topics that will be open to visitors until 4th September 2011. BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg is in pavilion 11 presenting three exciting research topics from…