Biotechnology for the bioeconomy: in something known as the P-bac process, sulphur bacteria extract phosphorus from sewage sludge ash. Phosphorus is one of the key building blocks of life and an essential nutrient for plant growth. When there is not enough phosphorus in the soil, farmers apply it via organic or mineral fertilisers.
https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/bacteria-help-recycle-phosphorusThe 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-backRecycled material instead of waste: wood ash is good for soil and plants - if the quality is right. The German Federal Quality Association for Food Ash ensures reliable wood ash standards with its certifications. The RAL-Dünger label for fertilisers provides the necessary certification for natural wood ashes to be used in the circular economy.
https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/how-natural-cycles-can-be-closed-wood-ashImmunology 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 Germany alone, around three billion disposable coffee capsules made of aluminium and plastic are sold every year. This creates a gigantic waste problem, as only a small proportion of the capsules can be recycled. Fully compostable wooden coffee capsules might be a solution to this problem. The capsules have been developed by a start-up company called rezemo, which also has other biobased packaging solutions in the pipeline.
https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/coffee-capsules-wood-instead-aluminiumIn 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-coronavirusThe microorganisms in biogas plants do a great job biologically converting CO₂ and hydrogen, which are primary fermentation products, into methane. Biomethane has a great future as an energy source. Scientists at the University of Hohenheim are investigating new ways to produce and use biomethane.
https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/new-technologies-for-using-biogas-as-balancing-energyA 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
