Freudenberg Filtration Technologies - 01/10/2020 Coronavirus thwarted: with filters against aerosol spread Filter technology can effectively remove microorganisms such as the new coronavirus from aerosols. A team of experts at Freudenberg Filtration Technologies develops and produces filtration solutions that effectively reduce the spread of viruses in cars, industrial plants and public buildings. The company’s filter technology for reducing the viral load is a reliable method for enabling people to stay in closed rooms with a high density of people.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/coronavirus-thwarted-filters-against-aerosol-spread
Organ failure due to fatty liver - 24/09/2020 HepaRegeniX develops an active substance for liver regeneration When the liver stops regenerating on its own, it might be possible in future for doctors to intervene with a chemical agent. Tübingen-based HepaRegeniX GmbH is developing a promising candidate with the aim of improving the treatment of both acute and chronic liver failure. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/heparegenix-develops-active-substance-liver-regeneration
Mosses for pharmaceutical production - 16/09/2020 Factor H as a therapeutic option for viral diseases - including COVID-19 The search for drug candidates for COVID-19 diseases is well underway. Factor H, which is part of the innate immune system, might also be a future therapeutic option. The Freiburg-based biotech company eleva has developed a technology for producing this human protein in moss cells. The active ingredient, which might also have a regulatory effect in other diseases, is currently undergoing preclinical testing.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/factor-h-therapeutic-option-viral-diseases-including-covid-19
Phytopharmaceuticals - 14/09/2020 Medicinal cannabis to be grown in Germany Anyone who thinks hemp is just an inconspicuous plant, whose ingredients can be used, at best, as an intoxicant, can quickly be proven wrong. Besides being used as a valuable raw material for textiles and building materials, the plant has great potential as a medicinal drug. The CANNABIS-NET network, coordinated by the University of Hohenheim, has been set up to establish the basis for producing medicinal hemp in Germany.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/medicinal-cannabis-be-grown-germany
Biochip systems - 02/09/2020 Miniature organs with great potential Dr. Peter Loskill and his team at the Fraunhofer Institute in Stuttgart and the University Hospital of Tübingen are developing what is known as an "organ-on-a-chip" (OoC). An OoC is a microfluidic system that simulates small functional units of organ tissue. OoCs can be used in different ways: in basic and pharmaceutical research as well as in clinical research and application, where they might render many animal experiments…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/miniature-organs-great-potential
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…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/labor-dr-merk-fully-committed-viral-therapies
CeGat GmbH - 06/08/2020 CeGaT: Specific coronavirus antibody test for all Have I perhaps already had COVID-19 in the past? This is a question many of us have been asking. Reliable tests that would provide the answer have simply not been available until now. However, the Tübingen-based biotech company CeGaT is now offering a coronavirus antibody test to anyone who wants one, thus answering this question with the highest probability currently possible. Response to the offer has been huge in the few weeks since the test…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/cegat-specific-coronavirus-antibody-test-all
TGU Varimol - 24/07/2020 Click chemistry for new medical procedures Using a simple molecular click process, biochemists have been able to connect ring-shaped molecules with each other and couple therapeutically active substances to these molecules. Drugs can thus be specifically delivered to diseased cells and used for imaging processes or biosensors. The Stuttgart-based start-up Varimol is using this new technology to provide its customers with tailored applications that are as simple to use as a kit.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/click-chemistry-new-medical-procedures
Microstructure Technology - 17/07/2020 An electronic nose for many applications Sensory organs are sophisticated masterpieces of nature. That is why humans have often tried to copy them. Be it cameras or microphones - there are technical objects that have always been based on natural models such as the eye or the ear. For a long time, however, no artificial sense of smell has featured in the technical repertoire. Now researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have developed an electronic nose. It can…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/electronic-nose-many-applications
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.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/Ulms-simulator-has-europes-back
Review article (new edition) - 08/07/2020 Immunology – at the forefront of medical progress Immunology is constantly changing with the emergence of new technologies and areas of application, and has branched out in many directions. Immunological approaches are central to everything – be it the development of innovative active substances and vaccinations against cancer, the search for new therapies against neurodegenerative diseases or autoimmune diseases, or combatting well-known infectious diseases or new virus epidemics.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/immunology-forefront-medical-progress
Affimed GmbH - 01/07/2020 "Innate cell engager" fighting against cancer In the fight against tumour cells, d Affimed GmbH from Heidelberg relies entirely on the weapons of the innate immune system. Affimed has developed special innate cell engagers, which are bispecific antibodies that recognise tumour cells and bring them together with natural killer cells and macrophages of the innate immune system, which then kill the tumour cells. Clinical trials using the AFM13 molecule are ongoing.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/innate-cell-engager-fighting-against-cancer
SICOS BW GmbH - 18/06/2020 High-performance computing and data analytics to combat coronavirus In an epidemic, data exchange and the use of innovative technologies are essential to be able to act effectively and quickly against the infection. High-performance computers and data analytics make a valuable contribution to this. SICOS BW is a promising solution centre that bridges the gap from numerical simulation, big data and AI to companies in the medical technology sector.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/high-performance-computing-and-data-analytics-to-combat-coronavirus
Innovations in the field of endoscopy - 08/06/2020 Gastroscopies with pill cameras A pill camera to examine the gastrointestinal tract that can be swallowed without major difficulty, controlled intuitively from the outside and deliver images in real time - why would any doctor or patient say no? To non-experts, it sounds more like science fiction but such a device is actually already in development: since 2019, Tübingen-based Ovesco Endoscopy AG and three partners have been working together on this in a project called nuEndo.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/magenspiegelung-kamerapille
Vaccine development - 02/06/2020 CureVac as a pioneer of mRNA technology - what is behind the novel COVID-19 vaccine? All eyes are on vaccines against the coronavirus. The Tübingen-based company CureVac is doing pioneering work in this field, and intends to initiate clinical testing of its lead vaccine candidate in June. At the same time, Curevac is manufacturing the material for this vaccine candidate. But that’s not all: the novel mRNA technology also has the potential to revolutionise the treatment of cancer and metabolic diseases. What makes the method so…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/curevac-als-pionier-der-mrna-technologie-was-steckt-hinter-dem-neuartigen-covid-19-impfstoff
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. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/translation-driver-cancer-medicine
Material research - 25/05/2020 Reaching up into weightlessness – a start-up that enables commercial research experiments in space Yuri, a start-up company founded in 2019 in the Lake Constance area, is aiming high. The company’s mission is to enable microgravity research into the development of materials, new medicines and vaccines, including research opportunities on the International Space Station (ISS). Yuri’s tailor-made solutions are faster and more affordable than previous space research missions.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/reaching-up-into-weightlessness-a-start-up-enables-commercial-research-experiments-in-space
Trenzyme GmbH - 20/05/2020 The SARS-CoV spike protein and its receptor The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus uses a spike protein to bind to the ACE2 receptor on the cell surfaces of lung tissue. Additional cofactors are needed to allow the virus genome to penetrate human cells and multiply. Knowing these relationships can help understand the course of the infection and develop counterstrategies. To this end, the Constance-based company Trenzyme has produced a recombinant spike protein to support coronavirus research.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/the-sars-cov-spike-protein-and-its-receptor
Heidelberg Technology Park - 05/05/2020 Start-up support for life sciences companies How can scientists turn their know-how into marketable products and services and thereby provide society with real added value? In addition to solid financing, start-up companies need a suitable infrastructure and a dense network of partners for exchanging expertise to help them get off to a good start when it comes to setting up a business. The Heidelberg Technology Park offers company founders in the life sciences exactly these success factors.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/start-up-support-for-life-sciences-companies
Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB - 24/04/2020 A rapid pyrogen test: the human immune system as model Every year, around 11 million people die of sepsis (blood poisoning) caused by microorganisms or microbial residues, known as pyrogens, entering the bloodstream. The smallest amounts can trigger fever. Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB in Stuttgart have developed a pyrogen test that does not require a laboratory and is not tested on animals. It is expected to be placed on the market soon.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/A-rapid-pyrogen-test-the-human-immune-system-as-model
Prime Vector Technologies GmbH - 09/04/2020 A modular brick system for developing a COVID-19 vaccine Prime Vector Technologies GmbH (PVT), a start-up company based in Tübingen in southern Germany, uses a modular brick system to develop vaccines against cancer and infectious diseases. The PVT team is currently working flat out to develop a COVID-19 vaccine.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/mit-einem-impfstoffbaukasten-gegen-covid-19
Bioinspired technologies - 03/04/2020 Diagnostics with molecular scissors – is this also possible for on-site COVID-19 tests? The CRISPR-Cas gene-editing technology is one of the most important developments in molecular biology in recent years. It utilises molecular scissors with which nucleic acids can be cut and edited almost arbitrarily. Researchers in Freiburg, Germany have now successfully used the technology for diagnostic purposes. They are currently working intensively on expanding the system to enable it to detect genome sequences of the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/Diagnostics-with-molecular-scissors-is-this-also-possible-for-on-site-COVID-19-tests
Funding Novartis announces broad range of initiatives to respond to COVID-19 Pandemic Funding programme, Funded by: Novartis AGhttps://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/database/funding/novartis-announces-broad-range-initiatives-respond-covid-19-pandemic
Multiple sclerosis - 12/03/2020 Direct application of biopharmaceuticals through the nose into the brain There is currently no cure for multiple sclerosis, the most common neurological autoimmune disease in humans. Biopharmaceuticals that can delay the course of the disease or diminish its effects are often prevented from being fully effective by the blood-brain barrier. A European consortium led by the Fraunhofer IGB, Stuttgart is developing a new technology that can transport an innovative active ingredient directly to the central nervous system.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/Direct-application-of-biopharmaceuticals-through-the-nose-into-the-brain
Novel coronavirus outbreak - a status report on recent developments - 04/03/2020 Waiting for a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine Researchers around the world are working frantically on the development of a vaccine against the new coronavirus. A project by the Tübingen-based biotechnology company CureVac, funded by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), uses the company’s technology platform for mRNA-based vaccines to accelerate vaccine development, thus contributing to the future prevention of the disease.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/Waiting-for-a-SARS-CoV-2-vaccine