Healthcare industry

CureVac GmbH, the mRNA company, today announced that the Paul-Ehrlich-Institute, the German regulatory authority for medicinal products, has approved the start of a Phase IIa trial for CV9201 to treat Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC).

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…

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.

Press release - 18/04/2012

immatics appoints Dr. Rainer Kramer as Chief Business Officer

immatics biotechnologies GmbH, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutic vaccines that are active against cancer, today announced the appointment of Dr. Rainer Kramer as Chief Business Officer (CBO) with immediate effect. In this newly created role, Dr. Kramer will lead immatics’ Business Development Unit in order to create optimal value from the Company’s pipeline of therapeutic cancer vaccines.

The German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Peter Altmaier, and Dietmar Hopp, SAP co-founder and co-founder of the investment company dievini Hopp BioTech holding GmbH & Co. KG, announced today that the Federal Republic of Germany will invest 300 million Euros in the biopharmaceutical company CureVac AG, a pioneer in the preclinical and clinical development of mRNA-based drugs.

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.

Press release - 01/06/2012

immatics wins 2012 TiE50 Award

Immatics biotechnologies GmbH, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing advanced therapeutic vaccines that are active against cancer, today announced that it has been named a 2012 TiE50 winner. These prestigious awards recognize entrepreneurship, innovation and management excellence within the life sciences, software, internet, mobile and energy sectors.

Dossier - 01/04/2013

Retroviruses: from infectious agent to therapeutic assistant

Viruses are infectious particles that use the machinery and metabolism of a host cell to replicate. Despite some similarities with accepted forms of life viruses are not considered as such. The family of retroviruses is particularly known for its most notorious representative i. e. the human immunodeficiency virus HIV which leads to AIDS and for which no cure or effective vaccine is currently available. However retroviruses are not only of…

Article - 15/03/2010

Innovative navigation system enables gene shuttles to reach their destination

If everything goes to plan the Department of Gene Therapy at the University of Ulm will soon lose a work group to industry. Florian Kreppels team plans to turn a particular technology into hard cash using a method that can do something other gene shuttles are unable to do namely transport their freight to a specific destination.

Brain tumor cells with a certain common mutation reprogram invading immune cells. This leads to the paralysis of the body's immune defense against the tumor in the brain. Researchers from Heidelberg, Mannheim, and Freiburg discovered this mechanism and at the same time identified a way of reactivating the paralyzed immune system to fight the tumor.

The RNA Printer® is CureVac’s integrated and automated manufacturing solution for RNA vaccines and therapeutics. CureVac RNA Printer GmbH to provide dedicated infrastructure to accelerate development and broaden application range of The RNA Printer®. Dr. Markus Bergmann appointed as General Manager for CureVac RNA Printer GmbH.

Press release - 21/09/2010

immatics raises 54 million euros to advance its late stage clinical therapeutic cancer vaccine portfolio

immatics biotechnologies GmbH a biopharmaceutical company developing advanced therapeutic vaccines that are active against cancer announced today that it has raised 53.8million in a Series C financing round. The new funds will allow the Company to finance the ongoing development of immatics existing pipeline of advanced therapeutic cancer vaccine candidates.

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.

Article - 29/11/2010

Against chronic liver inflammation and liver cancer

Chronic hepatitis B and C are the major causes of liver cancer. In contrast to hepatitis B viruses, there is no hepatitis C virus vaccination available. New research carried out by Professor Bartenschlager and his colleagues from Heidelberg might give rise to new strategies for the development of vaccines and medications for the prevention and treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus infections.

Article - 30/07/2009

Keeping as many valuable attachments as possible

The goal of many projects focusing on the purification of recombinant proteins is to rapidly and effectively remove substances and side products that would compromise the quality and quantity of biopharmaceutical compounds. A consortium of industrial and scientific partners is currently focusing on a different step in the biopharmaceutical production process: the goal is to keep as many as possible of the drugs’ ‘attachments’. The project focuses…

Press release - 12/11/2012

immatics appoints Peter Chambré as Chairman

immatics biotechnologies GmbH, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing advanced therapeutic vaccines that are active against cancer, today announced the appointment of Peter Chambré as Chairman of the Board with immediate effect. Peter Chambré has had extensive senior management experience in the biopharmaceutical sector and now holds several Chairman positions in the life sciences industry. He will replace Thomas Widmann, who has…

Article - 23/08/2010

Antibiotics for the prevention of malaria

Researchers from Heidelberg and Berlin have shown that if malaria-infected mice are administered an antibiotic, no parasites appear in the blood and the mice are protected from this life-threatening disease. The scientists believe that antibiotics also have the potential to strengthen the human immune system as well as making it possible to provide a natural needle-free vaccination against malaria.

Article - 29/07/2011

Labor Dr. Merk und Kollegen - Viruses under control

It is difficult to imagine how Ochsenhausen-based Labor Dr. Merk und Kollegen (LMK) would be able to develop, produce and test medical products for bacterial and viral contaminations without using cell cultures. The medium-sized company also produces viruses for testing and has stored more than 80 different viruses – enveloped and non-enveloped ones, animal and human pathogens – at -80˚C.

Article - 02/05/2016

Hepatitis C: a new starting point for vaccine development

With approximately 150,000 infected people in Germany, hepatitis C is a common disease for which therapies, but no vaccine, are available. Dr. Tobias Böttler from the Freiburg University Medical Center and his team are exploring the body’s immune response to the hepatitis C virus (HCV) and have found valuable information that could be used for vaccine development.

Atriva Therapeutics GmbH, a company that is pioneering the development of therapies for the treatment of viral infections, has secured up to €11.4 million in federal funding. The company, founded in 2015, announced today that it was selected for research funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Atriva will use the funds to advance its drug ATR-002 towards market maturity as quickly as possible.

Expert interview on NTDs – part 1 - 11/04/2019

Neglected tropical diseases – Carsten Köhler: impulses from Baden-Württemberg

More than one billion people worldwide suffer from neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). NTDs are mostly poverty-related infectious diseases that prevail in tropical countries due to lack of research and measures to detect, prevent and control them. Dr. Dr. Carsten Köhler reports on the political, economic and scientific contributions Germany and Baden-Württemberg can make to successfully change this situation.

Innovative Therapies - 20/08/2020

Labor Dr. Merk is fully committed to viral therapies

Labor Dr. Merk & Kollegen is reorienting its business towards viral therapeutics. With this change of strategy, the company, which has decades of expertise in virology, wants to position itself in a timely fashion in the growing new market for advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMP). In gene and virotherapies (oncolytic viruses), tumour vaccines and CAR-T cell therapies, viruses are essential as vectors, killers of tumour cells or…

Article - 20/01/2014

Microarray copier – for copying DNA, RNA and protein arrays

Dr. Günter Roth from the Centre for Biological Systems Analysis at the University of Freiburg is working on the development of a microarray copier that can almost at the push of a button copy arrays of any type of molecule DNA RNA and proteins from next-generation sequencing chips onto standard slides thereby combining the world of microarrays with the sequencing world. The approach has a huge application potential for the production of…

Article - 16/05/2009

Mykotown Greentech AG uses mycorrhiza to keep plants going

Mykotown Greentech AG offer mycorrhizal preparations that protect the plants against dehydration and bacteria. The fungi also enhance plant growth. The plants provide the natural soil fungi with carbon while the fungi help the plant to capture nutrients and liquids from the soil.

From 24 till 30 April 2017 is "European Immunization Week" – the BIOPRO provides information about this topic. 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…