Digital Health Systems GmbH (DiHeSys) has completed its founding phase and entered a new stage of development. This is reflected in the arrival of a new managing director, a strategic cooperation and its first pilot projects.
https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/dihesys-takes-steps-towards-applicationGrouped together, rare diseases are by no means a rare phenomenon; however, they are rarely correctly diagnosed and rarely properly treated. In most cases, there is no effective medication available. Rare disease centres staffed by experts have been set up in many German cities to speed up the often long and painful search for the right diagnosis and treatment. Whole genome sequencing is a component of general healthcare, used to identify…
https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/whole-genome-sequencing-diagnosing-rare-diseasesImmunotherapy has greatly improved the survival chances of patients with malignant melanoma. A study has now begun at the Department of Dermatology at the University Hospital of Tübingen to develop a way to monitor the course of treatment as effectively as possible. It involves personalised monitoring using liquid biopsies in addition to conventional PET/CT examinations. This analysis procedure of blood samples could enable closer monitoring of…
https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/personalised-therapy-monitoring-malignant-melanomasEvery tumour and every patient is different, and there are individual reactions to drugs as well as the problem of resistance. Patient-specific cancer treatments require innovative and cost-effective approaches. The TheraMe! consortium has developed a novel instrument: a combination of microfluidic experiments and mathematical modelling for use in cancer precision medicine to prevent incorrect therapy options.
https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/microfluidic-platform-best-possible-cancer-therapyThe Hahn-Schickard Institute and Spindiag GmbH in Freiburg im Breisgau have joined forces to develop a rapid test used at the point of care. The test takes just 43 minutes to show whether a patient is infected with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. The rapid test is expected to be given market approval in Germany and the EU during the final quarter of 2020.
https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/rapid-coronavirus-test-delivers-results-43-minutesApogenix, a Heidelberg-based biopharmaceutical company specialising in innovative immunotherapeutics, has initiated a Phase II clinical trial with asunercept, the company’s lead drug candidate for treating severe cases of COVID-19. The fusion protein blocks the CD95-ligand-mediated death of epithelial cells in the lung and thus prevents damage to the organ.
https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/new-immunotherapeutic-agent-treating-severe-covid-19-casesThe effective treatment of people with severe COVID-19 is a major goal during the corona pandemic. ATR-002, an oral small molecule that targets RNA viruses such as influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2, has a dual effect: it impairs viral propagation and also has an immunomodulatory effect. And what’s more, due to its unique cellular mechanism of action, the efficacy of Atrivia Therapeutics’ drug candidate is not reduced by virus mutations and…
https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/covid-19-pioneer-drug-phase-ii-clinical-trial-double-powerIf cancer patients develop pneumonitis, an inflammation of the lungs resulting from immunotherapy, their symptoms and restrictions in lung function can often only be alleviated with cortisone. Researchers led by Prof. Dr. Joachim Müller-Quernheim and Dr. Björn Frye from the Freiburg University Medical Centre have been able to cure a patient's pneumonitis by inhalation of a long-known neuropeptide.
https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/inhalation-intestinal-hormone-vip-helps-against-immunotherapy-induced-pneumoniaFor decades, conventional inactivated vaccines have been produced by killing pathogens with toxic chemicals. However, this process often changes the surface structure of the pathogens to such an extent that the immune system is only able to induce a weak response. KyooBe Tech GmbH is offering a method that uses low-energy electrons to inactivate pathogens. Vaccines produced this way are much higher quality, making them safer and more effective.
https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/next-generation-vaccine-productionFilter 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-spreadWhen 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-regenerationThe 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-19Anyone 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-germanyDr. 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-potentialLabor 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-therapiesHave 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-allUsing 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-proceduresSensory 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-applicationsBack 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-backImmunology 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-progressIn 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-cancerIn 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-coronavirusA 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-kamerapilleAll 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-impfstoffThe 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
