Healthcare industry

Article - 15/10/2012

gerbion®: hunting down pathogens

Detecting viruses, bacteria or parasites in human, animal, food and environmental samples is routine for the staff of gerbion GmbH & Co. KG. The company has been using virological, microbiological and serological methods for many years, but is now also using cutting-edge molecular biology methods for detecting pathogens. The founders of the Kornwestheim-based diagnostics company have concentrated on own research work and the development of…

Press release - 18/09/2012

CureVac Secures €80 Million in Series D Financing

CureVac GmbH, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of therapies and vaccines based on mRNA, announced on september 18 the completion of an €80 million financing round with its main investor, dievini Hopp BioTech Holding. In the next years, CureVac will use the proceeds mainly to advance the development of its two lead RNActive® cancer vaccines against prostate cancer and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC),…

Article - 03/09/2012

Systems biology and hepatitis C research

The international research project SysPatho aims to advance the understanding of HCV (hepatitis C virus) infections using systems biology approaches. The goal of the project coordinated by Universität Heidelberg is to develop new mathematical and computational methods to reconstruct HCV-infected hepatocytes, which can be used to identify new drug targets and help treat this dangerous disease.

Press release - 07/08/2012

immatics announces publication of IMA901 cancer vaccine data in Nature Medicine

immatics biotechnologies GmbH, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing advanced therapeutic vaccines that are active against cancer, today announced that key data covering the scientific and clinical development of its lead cancer vaccine, IMA901, have been published in Nature Medicine. The paper highlights that renal cell carcinoma patients experience longer survival times when their immune system produces an immune response to…

Article - 16/07/2012

Laupheim to become an international forum for biomanufacturing

The 2nd Laupheimer Zelltage conference organized by Rentschler Biotechnologie GmbH in Laupheim on 11th and 12th June 2012 focused on “Bioprocess light”. Twelve experts from applied research institutions and biotech companies from Germany and abroad provided the 200 or so guests with information on how modern bioproduction methods can be made simpler, more robust, cheaper, more reliable and hence more competitive.

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 - 30/04/2012

Human infectious diseases: new threats

The serious EHEC outbreak in Germany in 2011, the 2009 swine flu pandemic, the bird flu pandemic in 2005 and 2006 and the SARS outbreak in China in 2003, all of which have fuelled the fear of devastating epidemics for many people in Germany, have fortunately all been contained – at least up until now. However, experts warn of new dangerous pathogens that are spreading as a result of globalization and global climate warming. This is leading to new…

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.

Article - 20/02/2012

Microporation: an innovative laser replaces jabs

People who are afraid of needles now have something to celebrate: hypodermic needles, which have long been the key instrument for administering drugs used to treat allergies and diseases as well as for vaccinations, now have a serious competitor. The minimally invasive P.L.E.A.S.E. ® platform developed by Pantec Biosolutions AG combines a laser device and stick-on patches to deliver drugs transdermally and painlessly into the bloodstream. The…

Press release - 02/02/2012

Colorectal cancer: Phase II results with cancer vaccine IMA910 are positive

immatics biotechnologies GmbH, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing advanced therapeutic vaccines that are active against cancer, announced positive results from its Phase II clinical trial with IMA910 in patients with advanced colorectal cell carcinoma (CRC) which were presented at the Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in San Francisco. IMA910 comprises 13 tumor-associated…

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 - 21/11/2011

Johannes Huebner's interest in intestinal bacteria and their sweet-sour capsule

Some Enterococcus species are common commensal organisms in human intestines and other species are used in raw-milk cheese where they enhance flavour development. On the negative side enterococci are also a common cause of hospital-acquired infections. Prof. Dr. Johannes Huebner from the Freiburg University Medical Centre is hoping that the bacterias capsular polysaccharides might at some point in the future be used as a vaccine opening the door…

Press release - 15/11/2011

CureVac, Sanofi Pasteur and In-Cell-Art collaborate on a $33.1 million project

CureVac GmbH today announced the signing of several agreements with Sanofi Pasteur S.A., the vaccines division of Sanofi (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY). Under these agreements, CureVac and Sanofi Pasteur will further develop and apply CureVac’s proprietary RNActive® technology platform to the development of vaccines against several infectious diseases.

Press release - 15/11/2011

Lung cancer: CureVac presents results of a Phase I/IIa trial with an mRNA based vaccine

CureVac GmbH, the mRNA vaccine company, presented at the 26th Annual SITC Meeting in Washington the results of a Phase I/IIa trial in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with CV9201, an mRNA-based cancer vaccine, in patients with NSCLC stage IIIB/IV after first-line chemo-radiotherapy or chemotherapy, respectively.

Article - 17/10/2011

Papillomaviruses as cancer-causing agents and how they can be fought off

Studies presented at the recent International Papillomavirus Conference in Berlin demonstrate that vaccination can prevent infection with the types of HPV that cause the majority of cervical cancers. New improved vaccines to prevent HPV infections as well as therapeutic vaccines that are effective in people that are already infected are currently being developed. In addition, research has shown that other cancers can also be caused by infective…

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.

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.

Press release - 20/06/2011

CureVac presents new data for prostate and lung cancer vaccines

CureVac GmbH presented promising new data for prostate cancer vaccine CV9103 and lung cancer vaccine CV9201 at the ASCO Conference in Chicago. Final trial results confirm safety and excellent antigen-specific immunogenicity of prostate cancer vaccine CV9103. And initial promising data from phase I/IIa trial of lung cancer vaccine CV9201 further supports the potential of CureVac’s RNActive® vaccination technology in cancer immunotherapy and…

immatics biotechnologies GmbH, a biopharmaceutical company developing advanced therapeutic vaccines that are active against cancer, announced today that the first patients have been vaccinated in the IMPRINT study, a pivotal Phase III trial with IMA901, the company’s lead cancer vaccine for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Press release - 02/03/2011

immatics appoints Dr. Harald Stock to its Board

immatics biotechnologies GmbH, a late-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutic vaccines that are active against cancer, today announced the appointment of Dr. Harald F. Stock to the board of directors, effective February 2011.

Dossier - 28/02/2011

Allergies – a major human plague

According to the Federal Health Monitoring Information System a persons life expectancy is reduced by around one per cent due to allergies and their effects. Knowledge about the molecular mechanisms that lead to disorders in the interplay of the immune system and the environment is a prerequisite for developing new therapies for the causal treatment of allergies.

Article - 28/02/2011

Development of food allergies

Allergic reactions to certain types of food can, in extreme cases, lead to life-threatening anaphylactic shock. People with peanut allergies are particularly at risk. Allergic reactions can also gradually develop into chronic intolerances such as coeliac disease, for example. The causes of food allergies nearly always originate in early childhood.

Article - 14/02/2011

Marilena Manea: targeted chemotherapy to treat cancer

After cardiovascular diseases cancer is the second leading cause of death in Germany. At the University of Konstanz Dr. Marilena Manea and her research group are working on the development of bioconjugates for targeted cancer chemotherapy. The researchers goal is to improve the efficiency and tolerability of the chemotherapeutic drugs that are already being used in hospitals.

Article - 10/01/2011

Review: What does the cell factory of the future look like?

A symposium on “Cell Factories of the Future” was held at the Laupheim-based company Rentschler Biotechnologie on 14th and 15th October 2010. The event attracted around 70 scientists from academia and industry and will now take place every two years. The symposium focused on new biomanufacturing developments and technologies, and included lectures on (animal) cells, cell factories and the future of recombinant protein production.

Article - 03/12/2010

Review: Science meets Business Day 2010 (part II)

How can plant physiologists and seed developers work together to achieve an understanding of the processes happening in the germinating plant embryo in order to improve the seed quality of sugar beet? How can virologists find new ways to switch off the flu virus and develop a marketable vaccine in cooperation with industrial partners?