Healthcare industry

Expert interview - 08/03/2023

How do new active substances from university research reach patients?

Access to capital remains one of the biggest challenges in the life sciences sector. Over the last two years, the Baden-Württemberg Center for Academic Drug Discovery (BWCAD2) has successfully implemented a model of cooperation between academic drug research and industry for the development and validation of therapeutic concepts. Dr. Barbara Jonischkeit spoke with the initiator and leading figure behind the BWCAD2 project, Prof. Dr. Stefan Laufer

Chemical building blocks from plastic waste; Reducing the risk of falls using virtual orientation aids: Konstanz chemists Manuel Häußler and Lukas Odenwald as well as sport scientist Lorenz Assländer receive Baden-Württemberg prototype funding for their transfer projects "Waste2DCA" and "Augmented Balance".

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.

Inspiration, innovation, networking are the name of the game on April 12, 2022, when the trinational event “Innovation Day Upper Rhine” (IDUR) takes place at the Palais Universitaire on the University of Strasbourg campus. Twelve universities in the Upper Rhine region, including the University of Freiburg and 100 partner companies of the EU funded project “Knowledge Transfer Upper Rhine” (KTUR), invite to a day of exchange and meeting.

The Deep-Tech Start-Up memetis GmbH from Germany, which produces the world’s most compact and lightest commercially available valves driven by shape memory alloys, announces a new partnership with Fluid-o-Tech S.r.l., an Italian innovation and market leader in the field of fluid-pumps.

Evotec SE announced today the launch of beLAB2122 in the Rhine- Main-Neckar region to efficiently advance first-in-class therapeutic concepts into investable drug discovery projects. Mediated and supported by BioRN, Evotec’s newest BRIDGE brings together the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (“EMBL”), the German Cancer Research Center (“DKFZ”), the Goethe University Frankfurt, Heidelberg University and the University of Tübingen.

CureVac N.V. (Nasdaq: CVAC), a global biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of transformative medicines based on messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), and Novartis AG announced today that they have signed an initial agreement for the manufacturing of CureVac’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate, CVnCoV. Preparations for the start of production, technology transfers and test runs are already underway.

Company profile - 16/12/2019

Velabs Therapeutics GmbH: each droplet is a test system

Using microfluidics to detect new therapeutic antibodies is, in simple terms, the concept developed by Velabs Therapeutics GmbH. The Heidelberg-based start-up was spun out from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in 2017 with the support of EMBLEM Technology Transfer GmbH. More recently, investors have provided the young company with additional funding to expand its technologies and applications.

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.

Article - 15/01/2018

Blockchain technology as an opportunity for more transparency and self-determination

In the healthcare sector, blockchain technology is still in the early stages of development, although it has huge potential in this field. It is expected that patients will particularly benefit from the introduction of a decentralised database for managing and sharing health-related information with treating physicians. Statutory health insurance companies become less important as intermediaries. But how exactly does this technology work?

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…

Article - 01/06/2017

Biotechnology – key technology of the 21st century

According to a study published by the German National Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech) on 5th April, biotechnology is a key technology of the 21st century and has huge innovation potential. What are the trends within the industry and what are the challenges we face?

Article - 19/04/2017

Are start-ups a matter for the boss? A professor’s thoughts on university spin-offs

Research work and entrepreneurship are by no means mutually exclusive. There are numerous successful university spin-offs in the life sciences sector that prove this only too well. However, the road from a good idea to a commercially successful company can be long and arduous. Those who benefit from the support of their boss from the outset can consider themselves extremely fortunate. Prof. Dr. Hans-Georg Rammensee talks about his experience with…

The European Research Council awards Wilfried Weber an ERC Proof of Concept Grant. Wilfried Weber, Professor of Synthetic Biology at the University of Freiburg, has received a grant of roughly €150,000 for his project “Hide and Seek with Cancer Drugs” in which he is working to improve the drugs used in cancer treatment.

Press release - 13/12/2016

Early-diagnosis systems from Baden-Württemberg help prevent the spread of drug-resistant pathogens

More and more bacteria are developing resistance to multiple antimicrobial drugs. These multidrug-resistant bacteria can impede the action of common antibiotics via mutations or DNA transfer. More than 30,000 people are infected every year with multidrug-resistant bacteria in German hospitals alone. This could be prevented with appropriate hygiene measures and innovative test systems. Innovative test systems that enable reliable and rapid…

Article - 06/06/2016

ZEISS Vision Science Lab: understanding vision

Carl Zeiss AG and the University of Tübingen have been jointly running the ZEISS Vision Science Lab since 2013. This is a workgroup that is both fully integrated into research as well as delivering results for the development and improvement of products. The “Industry on Campus” professorship shows how different interests can turn out successfully for both parties involved.

Medical technology - 14/03/2016

The operating room of the future: minimally invasive and future-oriented intervention techniques

Being able to diagnose and treat tumour patients in just a few hours is just one of the many promising goals of the Fraunhofer Project Group for Automation in Medicine and Biotechnology (PAMB). The overall goal of the Intervention and Therapy research group is to take innovative technologies for diagnostic and therapeutic interventions from laboratory development to prototype production for use in clinical trials.

Baden-Württemberg is home to numerous technology parks and thus offers an excellent infrastructure and attractive high-tech locations for life sciences companies in close proximity to scientific excellence. Young companies and business start-ups particularly stand to benefit from the opportunities for cooperation with other companies and research institutions in the technology parks and also from the relatively cheap rents for office and…

Press release - 03/08/2012

Rentschler and MHH sign licensing agreement for a gene therapy vector system

The Hannover Medical School (MHH) and Rentschler Biotechnologie GmbH have signed a licensing agreement for the commercialization of a vector system for gene therapy that promises significant therapeutic and economic advantages over conventional technologies. Rentschler, an experienced specialist in the development of cell culture-based manufacturing processes and the production of relevant biopharmaceuticals, attains the right to develop…

The last round of file ideas for projects within the 7th Research framework program has been started. The European Commission will support innovative projects over eight billion euros to europe for global competition to strengthen and protect jobs. In addition to innovation, the focus is on health, environment, urbanization and waste disposal. The promotion is organizations and companies in all EU-member-states and partner countries open.

Press release - 05/12/2011

Cellzome founder wins EU women innovators award

Cellzome announces 5 December 2011 that Dr. Gitte Neubauer has received the highly esteemed EU Women Innovators Award. The award recognizes her outstanding contribution in translating academic research into a commercial venture through the foundation of Cellzome. The prize value of 100.000 euros awarded by the European Commission Innovation Union was presented by Jos Manuel Barroso in a ceremony as part of the Innovation Convention 2011 in…

Today marks an important step for ELIXIR, Europe’s emerging research infrastructure for life-science information, as five countries plus the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to catalyse the implementation and construction of ELIXIR. The memorandum has been signed by Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom, and more countries are planning to join in the near future. All…

Press release - 02/09/2011

German Government starts the initiative "Health - Made in Germany"

The overall aim of the initiative is to exploit the dormant capacities that lie within the export of health care products made in Germany. In Germany, many companies are already world leaders in their fields, in part due to a policy of consistent and early promotion of health care in Germany. German technology suppliers possess decades of valuable experience in realizing health care projects both at home and abroad. Provider of products and…

Press release - 27/06/2011

NMI TT GmbH – creating value from research

NMI TT GmbH is a subsidiary of the NMI Natural and Medical Sciences Institute in Reutlingen with which it works closely. Developments by the renowned NMI are commercialised by NMI TT GmbH and the profit flows back into the NMI’s research activities – thus leading to a value creation cycle that benefits research and development as well as the economy.

Article - 06/06/2011

Knowledge transfer depends on the application of learning

The ability of scientists from different disciplines to understand each other as well as excellent communication skills play an ever-increasing role in the transfer of knowledge from academic research to industry. Vice president of research at the Konstanz University of Applied Sciences HTWG Professor Gunter Voigt explains how academia and industry work together and also highlights the conditions that are necessary for such cooperations to lead…

Article - 30/05/2011

BioRN Innovation Center: Innovation broker for market and society

With the establishment of the BioRN Innovation Center in the Rhine-Neckar Life Science Cluster, a professional, specialist and neutral intermediary between science and industry will be available to support the transfer of technologies in all of the cluster’s research institutions. In addition, the BioRN Innovation Center acts as a partner for strategic alliances set up to reinforce the competitiveness of the institutions on the European and…

Article - 30/05/2011

Technology Licensing Office (TLB): invention and patent management

The Technology Licensing Office TLB works in partnership with science and industry and is continuously coming up with new ways to ensure the economic success of inventions from all the key fields of technology. Dr. Frank Schlotter head of Life Sciences at the Karlsruhe-based TLB provides insights into the work that his office does taking as examples innovations from the fields of regenerative medicine and diagnostics.

Article - 30/05/2011

CorTec GmbH – a bridge between ideas and action

Brain machine interfaces that are able to read a paralysed patients desired movement from his or her brain and convert it into actual movement might be available in a few years time if everything goes to plan. CorTec GmbH a spin-off company of the University of Freiburg has a technology platform that is able to measure and interpret a persons brain activity and drive muscles or artificial prostheses.

Dossier - 30/05/2011

Knowledge and technology transfer as a social responsibility

Technology transfer that efficiently exploits the intellectual property created by publicly funded research is necessary in order to turn scientific discoveries into successful innovations that improve people’s quality of life and boost the economy. The efforts made to rapidly transfer research results from the laboratory into clinical application for the benefit of patients leads to new strategic partnerships and structures in the field of…

Article - 18/01/2011

Innovation hotspots

In December 2010, the German and Israeli Ministers of Economics, Rainer Brüderle and Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, jointly opened the German-Israeli Innovation Day. The motto of the annual conference organised by the German-Israeli Life Sciences Committee in Heidelberg was “New ideas for a healthier world”. The conference enabled German participants to expand and reinforce their contacts with Israeli companies based on the long-standing cooperation…

Article - 03/12/2010

Review: Science meets Business Day 2010 (part I)

Germinating seeds biosensors in the human body deaf people learning to hear again and new approaches to combat the flu virus the lectures held at the Science meets Business Day which concluded this years BioValley Science Week once again highlighted the innovations brought about through the joint efforts of research and industrial players on the Upper Rhine.

Press release - 16/11/2010

Summit conference on regional development in the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region

To learn from leading regional developers this was the goal set by the representatives of the Biotechnology Cluster Rhine-Neckar BioRN for the Regional Development Summit. Representatives from business science and politics in the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region met in the Villa Bosch in Heidelberg on November 11 with experts from the leading international high-tech sites in Leuven Belgium Cambridge UK and Israel.

Article - 20/09/2010

PROcellcare – a cell nanny enters the market

The idea and the first laboratory device were developed in Heidelberg at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory EMBL one of the worlds top-class research institutions before being turned into a product by the Heiligkreuzsteinach-based company PROdesign. PROcellcare a fully automated cell analysis and nutrient supply system that can be integrated into microscope is an impressive demonstration that innovation very much depends on the right…

Jiangnan University JU is one of Chinas key universities of the 211 Project and functions under the Ministry of Education. The university host the National Engineering Laboratory of Fermentation Technology the Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology the Engineering Research Center of Bioactive Product Processing Jiangsu Province and the Collection of Industrial Microbes Resources.

Press release - 23/06/2010

Technology park „bioBAY“ - life science infrastructure the Chinese way

Being one of Baden-Württemberg’s global partner regions, the Chinese province of Jiangsu deserves special attention in the field of life sciences. The highly dynamic bioBAY park located in the city of Suzhou puts a strong emphasis on bio- and nanotechnologies. With its numerous science and business opportunities bioBAY has a lot to offer also to potential partners from Baden-Württemberg.

Article - 03/05/2010

In order to innovate, we must come down from the ivory tower

At talks given at the recent Biotechnology Days in Berlin representatives of a number of different BMBF-funded clusters showed that numerous strategies to enable the industrial production of biopolymers and biomaterials from resources other than oil are now available.

Article - 18/03/2010

Cancer treatment adapted to individual patient requirements

There is still no treatment available for a number of non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphomas. Chemotherapy, which is the standard method of treating the lymphomas, has unpleasant side effects. Researchers led by Prof. Dr. Hendrik Veelken at the Freiburg University Medical Centre in cooperation with Freiburg-based CellGenix Technologie Transfer GmbH have developed a promising new treatment strategy. Results of the Phase I and the Phase II study, which has…

Press release - 11/02/2010

BioValley receives funding package

BioValley the cross-border life sciences cluster in the border area between Germany France and Switzerland has put in place new measures to support the regional economy and science. The European Union will provide funding through the INTERREG IV programme.

Press release - 11/11/2009

Hematopoietic stem cell treatment with a new gene therapy vector: A first success treating a brain disease

Two children with adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), a fatal brain disease, have been successfully treated with a new gene therapy vector. Two years after treatment, the disease evolution has been stopped, and no adverse effect of the gene therapy has been observed so far. The results of this clinical trial conducted by Drs Nathalie Cartier and Patrick Aubourg (Inserm, France) in collaboration with European partners have just been published in Science…

Press release - 09/10/2009

BIOTECHNICA 2009 - turning ideas into value

BIOTECHNICA 2009 which took place in Hanover Germany from 6th to 8th October 2009 featured the seminal motto Turning ideas into value. The exhibition programme was rounded off by numerous talks and plenary discussions held at the joint Baden-Württemberg booth.

Press release - 18/09/2009

BioRegio STERN initiates cooperation with French medtech network

The STERN BioRegion and Ple Technologique de Haute-Champagne are looking to promote cooperation between French and German companies and research institutes in the medtech and associated sectors.

The INTEREG IV B programmes are financial instruments of the European Union designed to support the European-wide cooperation between small- and medium-sized companies, research institutions and government authorities. A meeting held on 22nd July 2009 in Heilbronn provided special information on the programme, with a special focus on the cooperation between North-West and Central Europe.

Prof. Dr. Dr. Christoph Cremer of the Kirchhoff Institute of Physics at the University of Heidelberg and his team have developed a high-performance microscope. This cutting edge microscope enables scientists to investigate molecular details of several cells simultaneously using standard fluorescent dyes such as green fluorescent protein (GFP). The world’s fastest nano light microscope uses a new localisation microscope method known as spectral…

Article - 15/07/2009

The gap in the value creation chain

On a national level the University of Freiburg comes out reasonably well in comparison with other universities regarding the number of patents filed and licensed. But is it enough to protect an intellectual property and sell it to a company? No says Prof. Dr. Bernhard Arnolds from the Central Office of Research Funding and Technology Transfer at the University of Freiburg.

The Ulm-based Institute for Laser Technologies in Medicine and Metrology (ILM) has received a 335,000 euro injection in 2009 through the German government’s Future Investment Programme (Economic Stimulus Packet II), according to the Baden-Württemberg Minister of Economic Affairs Ernst Pfister. The funds, 75 per cent of which are provided by the German government and 25 per cent by the state of Baden-Württemberg, will be used for the modernisation…

Article - 23/04/2009

Cancer therapy targets angiogenesis

The idea of starving tumours by interrupting their blood supply has despite initial drawbacks generated the production of blockbuster drugs and is now a major RD focus for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. But the biological effects are more complicated than originally expected.

Although the MedCare TechArea was not one of the five top clusters to recently receive an award from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research the cluster and its MedCare TechArea will be further developed.

The new iNNOVATION fORUM of the Baden-Württemberg MicroMountains Network offered researchers and the medical device industry an intensive moderated dialogue and the chance to make new contacts and to improve their chances for future innovations.

The experimental operating theatre at the University Hospital in Tübingen is currently attracting nationwide attention. The simulation and testing laboratory was officially opened on the 14th July by Minister President Günther H. Oettinger.

The GABI-PRECISE consortium which originates from the Genome Analysis of the Plant Biological System GABI initiative has announced a cooperative project on the introduction of gene targeting in barley.