Press releases

In the project Fraunhofer iCAIR, scientists are breaking new paths in the development of anti-infective therapies: for efficacy testing of new drug candidates, they use, for example, human precision-cut lung slices (PCLS).

Aiming to support European med-tech companies in the global competition, the EU has initiated the project TBMED – An Open-Innovation Test Bed for the Development of High-Risk Medical Devices. Together with 12 project partners from Spain, France, Ireland and Germany, Fraunhofer ITEM is actively participating in the development of a test bed for medical devices of risk classification IIb and higher. The project will receive 8.5 million euros funding under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Program and will run until the end of February 2023.

Premature babies who are born before their lungs have finished maturing often suffer from a lack of surfactant – a substance necessary for lung development. They are also particularly susceptible to illnesses of the respiratory organ, which have to be treated by means of inhalation. However, the inhalation systems available are not geared to the needs of preterm infants and newborns. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM are working with partners to develop a system that would allow drugs to be administered as aerosols in an efficient and breath-triggered manner. This would shorten therapy duration, thereby easing the strain on little bodies.

On November 8, 2018, 16 Australian researchers visited Fraunhofer ITEM as part of the InnoTour 2018. In addition to lectures on the “Integration of Human Tissue for Research and Development”, the guests were offered guided tours through the clinical research center CRC Hannover, which gave the Australian visitors an insight into the state of the art of in-vitro toxicology and ex-vivo methods.

Hip and dental implant operations are routine. But not entirely risk-free. They may result in infection that is difficult to control with oral or intravenous antibiotics. In such cases, the implant will probably need to be replaced. Fraunhofer researchers can now apply a precisely matched drug directly to the replacement implant while significantly increasing the effectiveness of the antibiotic via a synergism with silver ions. Their research will be on display at the MEDICA and COMPAMED trade fairs in Düsseldorf from November 12 to 15, 2018 (Hall 8a, Booth P13).

Patient safety is top priority in medicine and biomedical engineering. Aiming to increase patient safety, the EU introduced the European Medical Device Regulation (MDR) in 2017. Representatives of the medtech sector are expecting massive negative consequences from the regulation and are suggesting specific measures for a revision of the MDR.

The last event within the Fraunhofer initiative InnoHealth Australia will take place in Germany from November 5 to 9 – InnoTour 2018. Executed by the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, this tour will bring 16 Australian researchers and innovators to different institutions and SMEs of the German healthcare sector.

Together with three other Fraunhofer Institutes, Fraunhofer ITEM hosted the Science Campus from September 24 to 26, 2018, aimed at attracting female students and graduates in the STEM subjects to work in applied research.

Researcher Prof. Christoph Klein, Fraunhofer ITEM Division Director of Personalized Tumor Therapy and Senior Professor of Experimental Medicine and Therapy Research at the University of Regensburg (Germany) has been given the international “I.J. ‘Josh‘ Fidler Innovation in Metastasis Research Award”. Prof. Klein received this award for his innovative contributions to metastasis research. The award ceremony took place in Princeton, USA, on August 3, 2018, during the 17th Congress of the Metastasis Research Society.

In the development of new medications and medical engineering, there is a gap between the discovery of new potential active ingredients and products and their further development into medicinal products and medical devices by the industry. The Helmholtz Association and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, together with the Deutsche Hochschulmedizin, have now jointly brought the Proof-of-Concept initiative into being. It promotes the translation of innovative, promising research projects.