PURA syndrome is a rare developmental disorder of the brain for which there is currently no cure. The patient association PURA Syndrome Germany was founded last year. Since then, the affected families have been collecting donations with great dedication – and have decided to donate the majority of this money to research into the syndrome at Ulm University.

Scientists have long sought ways to simulate the neural networks in the brain with computers in order to understand how it works. Now, researchers have combined new measurements of the wiring diagrams of the fruit fly with artificial intelligence methods to build a neural network that can do what few thought possible: To predict the activity of individual neurons without making a single measurement in a living brain.

Professor Dr. Rohini Kuner from the Medical Faculty of Heidelberg University receives the Leibniz Prize of the German Research Foundation (DFG).

The development of highly specific T-cell engagers directed against pHLA tumor targets will be quick and easy. BioCopy's innovative pHLA screening technology characterizes drug candidates in great depth for their specific binding against the desired pHLA tumor target. YUMAB develops highly specific antibodies with their advanced antibody technologies.

Dossier - 11/10/2023

The quantum revolution in the healthcare industry

From ultra-fast quantum computers to highly sensitive sensors - quantum technologies could take medicine a giant step forward. Possible areas of application range from drug development and early cancer detection to reading brain waves to control prostheses or exoskeletons. The German state of Baden-Württemberg plays a key role in the development of sensors in particular.

The recently established ITCC-P4 gGmbH provides academic institutions and pharmaceutical companies with a comprehensive repertoire of modern laboratory models of pediatric tumors. The aim is to systematically test new treatment options for children and adolescents with cancer and to contribute data to regulatory approval processes in order to make the development of new cancer therapies for children and adolescents more attractive.

Patients have 30 percent fewer serious side effects when medication doses are tailored to their genetic profile. This is what an international research consortium has found out, including the Dr. Margarete Fischer-Bosch Institute of Clinical Pharmacology at the Bosch Health Campus. With an individual DNA medication pass, as used in the study, treatments can be made more effective and safer in the future.

CureVac N.V. a global biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of transformative medicines based on messenger ribonucleic acid (“mRNA”), today announced that the first participant was dosed in a Phase 1 study of COVID-19 second-generation mRNA vaccine candidate, CV2CoV, developed in collaboration with GSK.

ValidaTe enables characterization of efficacy and safety of T-cell drug candidates in days rather than months. The breakthrough speed and unprecedented density of data processed can give partner companies a competitive advantage. New high-throughput microarray technology for label-free characterization of drug candidate interactions can significantly accelerate development in immune-oncology.

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…

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.

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.

Dossier - 04/11/2013

Biotechnology driver of innovation in the pharmaceutical industry

The biotech industry is the innovative driver for a pharmaceutical industry that, due to the shift from blockbluster products to personalised medicine, now depends on new concepts. The production of new drugs using genetic engineering relies on knowledge gained from genomics, proteomics and systems biology and creates new treatment strategies that combine therapy and diagnostics (i.e. companion diagnostics) to provide a specific individualised…

Dossier - 23/07/2012

Extremophilic bacteria

Extremophilic bacteria love it hot, sour or salty, toxic substances like heavy metals also do them good and even give them energy. As molecular and systems biology techniques get better and better, industry is also becoming increasingly interested in these exotic organisms. What potential does knowing the biochemistry of extremophilic bacteria have for the pharmaceutical, cosmetics and sanitary articles industries?