Press releases

How can chemicals be assessed safely in the future while reducing animal testing and maintaining a high level of scientific confidence? The European research community is working hard to bring about this transformation. One major step toward regulatory implementation is the European Commission’s new roadmap for the gradual phase-out of animal testing in the safety assessment of chemicals. The Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM is actively helping to drive this development, not least through the development of the ASPA workflow within the EU-funded project RISK-HUNT3R.

Air pollution remains the leading environmental cause of premature death in the European Union, while occupational exposure to hazardous airborne substances continues to pose serious risks to workers in industrial settings. Despite existing regulation, industries still need more effective tools to monitor emissions, reduce exposure and manage risks in real time.

Hair products used in hair salons release aerosols that can cause respiratory tract irritation if inhaled. Under a contract from industry, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM investigated the effects of aerosols produced when using heated chemical hair products. Using an innovative cell-based in vitro inhalation method, the researchers can estimate effects on the respiratory tract and identify potentially harmful substances. This non-animal testing method supports safe product development that is fully in line with the safe-by-design approach, which integrates safety in product development right from the start.

Innovative mRNA-based therapeutics and vaccines offer hope in the fight against cancer, genetic disorders and infections. However, their development and production are complex, slow and difficult to scale. Seven Fraunhofer institutes are working to change this situation. In the RNAuto project, they have now developed an automated, digitally controlled production system that is fast, flexible and cost-effective.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM has completed the sale of its Braunschweig location to AveThera GmbH. Through this acquisition, the Braunschweig location will now be taken over by a young company that plans to use the location's expertise and infrastructure to develop innovative solutions.

Thursday, March 12, is the big day: A research rocket from the REXUS program launched into the stratosphere from the Esrange Space Center in Sweden, carrying the THRIVE module with components of the cell-based StellarHeal wound care material from Würzburg, Hanover, and Dresden. Preparations for the current rocket launch have been underway since last November, and now it's time to keep our fingers crossed that the experiments yield good results.

As of January 1, 2026, the management of the GLP Test Facility at the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM has changed. Prof. Dr. Armin Braun, Head of the Department of Preclinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, has been appointed Head of the GLP Test Facility. He succeeds Prof. Dr. Norbert Krug, Director of Fraunhofer ITEM, who previously held this responsibility. Dr. Sylvia Escher, Head of the Department of Safety Assessment and Toxicology, has been appointed Deputy Head of the GLP Test Facility.

The collaborative project “iGUARD – Inhalable RNA Therapeutics for Targeted Treatment of Lung Diseases” has been honored with the Lower Saxony Innovation Award 2025. The team of researchers from Hannover Medical School (MHH) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM received the award in the category “Knowledge and Technology Transfer.” The prize was presented on November 4, 2025, at a formal ceremony in Hannover by Falko Mohrs, Lower Saxony’s Minister for Science and Culture.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM has now been officially accredited by AAALAC International (Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International). This underlines the institute’s commitment to a responsible, ethical, and humane use of animals in research – going beyond legal requirements.

Approximately five million people worldwide suffer from chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Despite modern therapies, many immunological mechanisms underlying the disease remain poorly understood – posing a key challenge for the development of new targeted treatments.