Healthcare industry

The Dr. Ernst Wiethoff Award 2008 for innovative clinical research worth 25000 euros was presented to Jan Münch from the Institute of Virology at the University Hospital of Ulm. Münch discovered a new protein that blocks the HI virus.

GENOVAC GmbH has started a research project funded by the German Ministry for Business and Technology BMWi as part of the program PRO INNO II for the Development and validation of antibodies as a novel therapeutic concept to block liver infection by hepatitis C Virus.

The Comprehensive Infectious Diseases Centre at the University of Ulm was recently presented to the public. The centre is responsible for coordinating the cooperation between specialists in the diagnosis and therapy of complex infectious diseases.

Professor Dr. Christoph Borner from the University of Freiburg and his team are investigating the molecular mechanisms of apoptosis. Their research also provides insights into the medical treatment of cells that do not want to die - cancer cells.

Researchers at the University of Stuttgart are leaders in the field of diagnosis and analysis of plant viruses. In a two-week Summer School the researchers imparted their knowledge to virologists from all over the world.

Frank Kirchhoff an AIDS researcher from Ulm has learnt to pose important questions and find the right answers during his post-graduate studies. This recipe has brought him and his research group international recognition and makes him one of the best AIDS researchers worldwide. Important publications within a very short time and numerous awards are clear evidence of his outstanding achievements. In addition he has just started a clinical trial…

About a year ago Prof. Dr. Martin Schwemmle and his team at the University Hospital of Freiburg discovered a new starting point in the fight against the H5N1-virus. In the meantime the scientists are working together with the company Pike Pharma to develop a compound.

Prof. Dr. Bernhard Eitel Rector of the University of Heidelberg awarded the HMLS Prize to Prof. Dr. Bernd Bukau Centre for Molecular Biology in Heidelberg and Prof. Dr. Hans-Georg Kräusslich Institute of Hygiene at the University of Heidelberg.

The German Research Foundation will continue to fund the Transregional Collaborative Research Centre Inflammatory Cardiomyopathy - Molecular Pathogenesis and Therapy for another four years with a total of 10 million euros. The Department of Cardiology of the University Hospital of Tübingen will also become part of the SFB.

Press release - 19/05/2008

Viruses caught red-handed

Prof. Thilo Stehle biochemist at the University of Tübingen wants to capture and accurately study the moment at which a virus binds to a cell. He is hoping that further insights into this process might some time enable the development of drugs.

Noroviruses often might be the causative agents of Nausea vomiting diarrhoea fever. The Chemical and Veterinary Investigation Office in Stuttgart has now developed a method that enables the detection of these viruses on food.

The German Cancer Research Centre and the Spanish company Chimera Pharma SL have signed an exclusive licensing and cooperation agreement. The two partners will develop a therapeutic vaccine against cervical cancer.

Almost half of the veins transplanted to restore blood flow in the heart become clogged again within ten years after surgery. Gene therapy pre-treatment of the vein fragments that prevents the muscle cells from entering the vascular wall might decrease the risk of this happening.

Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen and their colleagues from the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines succeeded in accelerating rice plant breeding by using artificial small RNA molecules.

Heinz Schaller of the Centre for Molecular Biology at the University of Heidelberg ZMBH was awarded the Löffler Frosch Medal for his research on viral infections. He was co-founder of the biotechnology company Biogen.

Article - 01/03/2008

New active substance against hepatitis B

Scientists at the University Hospital in Heidelberg have discovered a hepatitis B virus peptide that can prevent viral infections in a mouse model. A team led by Professor Stephan Urban is developing a virus blocker against hepatitis B infections. Despite vaccinations every year about 750000 people die from the consequences of hepatitis B infections.

Applications written in English must be submitted to DFG by 31st March 2008.

About 500000 people in Germany suffer from dilatative cardiomyopathy DCM. Viral infections are the major cause of this myocardial disease. Its molecular and cellular mechanisms are being investigated in a transregional SFB project at the University of Tübingen.