Healthcare industry

On March 23, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted approval to the first targeted radioligand therapy against metastatic prostate cancer based on a joint patent of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the University of Heidelberg. The agent significantly improves the chances of survival for those affected.

A new interdisciplinary research project aims to uncover information that can help decode hereditary colon cancer with the aid of mathematical models. Mathematicians and tumour biologists of Heidelberg University, the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies, Heidelberg University Hospital, and the German Cancer Research Center are collaborating on the project.

Stem cell therapy for regenerating intervertebral discs - 16/07/2020

Ulm’s simulator has Europe’s back

Back pain is often caused by intervertebral disc disorders. Much has already been tried and is available to help patients. Despite extensive progress, there is still no surefire recipe for success. iPSpine, an EU-funded project to which researchers from Ulm are contributing interdisciplinary engineering and biomedical expertise, aims to design a novel therapy for back pain based on intervertebral disc regeneration.

Translational oncology - 26/05/2020

Translation: driver of cancer medicine

The fight against cancer is a pressing issue. Although technological advances in the treatment, prevention and early detection of cancer have improved over the past few decades, the number of people affected is increasing. Cancer medicine now wants to counteract this by joining forces with other players involved in the field.

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.

Article - 08/11/2019

Nanorobots as future minimally invasive tools for the eye

It is difficult to place drugs in the right place in the eye. When using droplets, only a small fraction of the drug reaches its target. Injecting drugs into the eye is also more a matter of luck than judgement. Basic researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems Stuttgart have developed a nanorobot that can be loaded with active ingredients for treating eye diseases and directed through the solid tissue of the vitreous body.

Vision Zero in oncology - 02/09/2019

Call for a comprehensive master plan for preventing and treating cancer

While a cancer-free world may seem unrealistic given the increasing numbers of cancer cases, we need to reach a social consensus that cancer deaths are unacceptable and that everything possible must be done to prevent them. Leading cancer researchers around the world are calling for more investment in prevention research and cancer screening to move towards the vision of a near cancer-free world.

Article - 05/03/2019

Vaccination against oncogenic Epstein-Barr viruses

Almost all humans are infected with Epstein-Barr viruses (EBV), which are linked to the development of benign diseases such as infectious mononucleosis as well as several cancers. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center have developed a new strategy for creating a vaccine that targets different EBV virus life phases and has the potential to provide effective protection against EBV infection.

Expert interview - 08/08/2018

Ludolph: diagnosing and treating neurodegenerative disorders

Ulm has long been a world leader in diagnosing and treating rare neurological disorders, notably amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and Huntington's disease (HD). We spoke with Professor Albert C. Ludolph, spokesperson for the Ulm DZNE site, medical director of the Clinic for Neurology at the RKU (University and Rehabilitation Clinics of Ulm) and world-renowned ALS researcher.

Article - 05/04/2018

Crossing the valley of death with translational cancer research

It can take many decades before promising research results become therapies that have a positive effect on cancer patients. Most research projects go adrift somewhere between the laboratory and the bedside in the so-called "valley of death". Projects carried out at the DKFZ show that translational cancer research actually works.

Press release - 21/02/2018

German Cancer Award for Michael Baumann

Michael Baumann, Chairman and Scientific Director of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg, receives the 2017 German Cancer Award in the category "Translational Research". The science award, which is sponsored by the German Cancer Society and the German Cancer Foundation, is one of the most prestigious distinctions in cancer medicine in Germany.

Guest article - 22/09/2014

Experience report: Six months Shanghai

Sebastian Giese, a doctoral student at the University of Freiburg, spent six months in Shanghai with funding from a Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts China scholarship. Below, Sebastian tells us about his impressions of the country and its people and his experiences in the megacity.

Article - 19/05/2014

Alcoholism: the molecular basis of addiction and deprivation

Scientists at the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim use rats and mice to study the genetic basis and neurobiological mechanisms of alcohol addiction, the changes that occur during alcohol deprivation and the factors that favour a relapse. In translational research, the results from animal experiments are reviewed using alcohol-dependent patients in order to turn them quickly into preventive strategies and therapies.

Press release - 15/01/2014

Hit Discovery Constance GmbH: a new hub for HTS and compound management

Hit Discovery Constance GmbH (“HDC”), a new joint venture organisation between Lead Discovery Center (Dortmund/Germany), Centre for Drug Design and Discovery (CD3, KULeuven, Leuven/Belgium) and Axxam (Milan/Italy) has started its operation. The new company is based in Constance (Germany) and will make use of the already established equipment and know-how of the former Takeda/Nycomed/Altana screening and compound management facilities at the site.

Article - 18/11/2013

The HAE Accelerator – "compete to speed up your start-up"

The HAE Accelerator is an international programme involving biomedical clusters in Cambridge (UK), Leuven (Belgium) and Heidelberg (Germany) that seeks to identify, train and put innovative start-up teams in the three countries in contact with international VC investors. Of the three business ideas that were awarded a HAE Investors’ Choice Award in September 2013, InoCard from Heidelberg came first with a new gene therapy for myocardial…

Article - 09/09/2013

The Heinrich-Lanz Centre for Personalised Medicine in Mannheim

A Centre for Translational Research and Personalised Medicine is currently emerging at the Faculty of Medicine in Mannheim, University of Heidelberg. The new centre is expected to boost the development of new therapies in cooperation with partners from Germany and abroad. The centre also works closely with the “French-German Advanced Translational Drug Discovery Center”, a unique, large-scale, cross-border research cooperation between French and…

Article - 12/11/2012

Otmar D. Wiestler – combining excellent research and cancer medicine

The University of Tübingen Medical Faculty’s award of an honorary doctorate to the Chairman of the Executive Board of the German Cancer Research Center, Professor Dr. Otmar D. Wiestler, was not just a distinction awarded to a renowned neuropathologist, oncologist and stem cell researcher, it also honoured a well-known personality who has made a significant contribution to shaping health research in Germany.

Article - 09/01/2012

Nutritional medicine: Can certain foods help treat cancer?

Researchers at the Centre for Nutritional Medicine (ZEM), a joint institution of the Universities of Hohenheim and Tübingen, are investigating whether and to what extent certain food components can support the treatment of cancer and are hoping to derive scientifically founded dietary recommendations from their findings.

Article - 19/12/2011

Gundram Jung – a pioneer in antibody-mediated cancer immunotherapy

Physicist, medical doctor, researcher and now also a founder of a company – Professor Dr. Gundram Jung’s career has never gone in a completely straight line although his goal has always been the same: to develop innovative immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer. Jung’s genetically modified antitumour antibodies are now close to clinical application.

Article - 12/09/2011

TransLimm brings new immunotherapies to patients more rapidly

With the establishment of the Center for Translational Immunology TransLimm the University of Tübingen has initiated a network whose objective is to quickly and effectively transfer innovative therapies into clinical application. Patients suffering from acute leukaemia might soon benefit from therapies involving antibodies optimized by recombinant antibody technology.

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 - 30/05/2011

From bench to bedside to bench

The term translational medicine does not always refer to the concept “from bench to bedside and back”, and indeed is often used to refer to many other, somewhat distant, concepts. However, the new translation centres and translational research consortia do correspond to the original meaning. These new centres and consortia have become effective structures in health research in Germany whose goal is the continuous improvement of the diagnostic and…

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 - 06/03/2011

Heidelberg Translational Lung Research Centre

University and non-university research institutions in Heidelberg that carry out research into lung diseases have established an expert network – the Heidelberg Translational Lung Research Centre – which is part of the new BMBF-funded German Centre for Lung Research. In Heidelberg, research focuses on the development and treatment of cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and lung cancer.