Press releases

The Pharmaceutical Biotechnology division at the Braunschweig location of the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM, one of the institute’s five research divisions at three different locations, is to be closed as of February 28, 2026. The research division has been operating at an ongoing deficit, with little likelihood of this changing in the future. The executive board of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft has now approved the request to this effect made by the institute management. One possible solution for maintaining the Braunschweig location remains – the transfer to a private company.

A research team from the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM has, for the first time, demonstrated that drug concentrations in the human lung can be measured directly via particles in exhaled breath – a breakthrough with major implications for the targeted development and optimization of inhaled therapies. For this groundbreaking study, Prof. Dr. Jens Hohlfeld, Head of Airway Research at Fraunhofer ITEM, together with Dr. Olaf Holz, received the prestigious Willi Stahlhofen Award from the International Society for Aerosols in Medicine (ISAM). The award ceremony took place on June 24 at the ISAM Congress in Washington DC, USA.

Dr. Steinacher completed her doctoral studies with a dissertation conducted in collaboration between MHH, Fraunhofer ITEM, and F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG in Basel. The work was supervised by Dr. Lauriane Cabon (Roche) and Prof. Dr. Armin Braun (Fraunhofer ITEM). She was awarded one of the two doctoral prizes of the Society of Friends of MHH e.V., each worth €2,500.

What drives the metastasis of melanomas right from the very beginning – long before it becomes clinically detectable? This is the question the research teams addressed in their publication in Nature Cancer.

Traditional storage solutions are reaching their limits in light of the steadily in-creasing volume of data generated worldwide. In the BIOSYNTH project, three Fraunhofer institutes are developing a microchip platform for future mass data storage using synthetic DNA. In this interview, Dr. Uwe Vogel, the project’s co-ordinator and head of the Microdisplays and Sensors department at the Fraun-hofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS, explains how the researchers plan to widen the use of this high throughput-capable, modular system for synthesizing DNA, RNA and peptides to also include biological applications such as screening for harmful substances and development of active ingredi-ents.

The development of novel therapeutics offer great hope for the fight against widespread diseases such as cancer, but they can impair the cardiovascular system, so development often fails early on. Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM and Hannover Medical School have developed a complex cardiac organoid model that can be used to study the potential cardiotoxicity of new medications. Their miniature heart even has an immune system of its own.

As part of the portfolio conference held by the Institute for Biomedical Translation (IBT) on November 27, 2024, a distinguished jury selected Inhale+ to receive €1.3 million in funding. We are immensely proud that this groundbreaking technology, developed at Fraunhofer ITEM, now reaches patients.

In July 2024, the Technical Rule for Hazardous Substances 529 (TRGS 529) was revised. TRGS 529 applies to all activities related to the production of biogas as well as the operation of biogas plants. It also regulates the handling of additives and auxiliary materials, including special safety measures required when using cobalt and nickel, as both heavy metals are considered carcinogenic.

Electronic cigarettes, or vapes, are commonly viewed as less harmful to people’s health than tobacco cigarettes. And yet, they are not without health drawbacks. For many ingredients, it is unknown how they will behave when heated. Since the temperatures inside e-cigarettes vary widely, different products can be released during thermal decomposition. This makes it more difficult to gauge the potential risks of these tobacco alternatives. Until now, there has been no testing system that could be used to test the ingredients used across the entire relevant temperature range. Now, with EVape, the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM has developed a prototype device for controlled vaporization of e-liquids in a broad temperature range. The emissions released during the process can then be analyzed and subjected to a toxicological assessment. The findings are generally valid, regardless of which e-cigarette the liquid is used in.

Initiation of Phase Ia/Ib1 with the first human administration of the intranasal form of OM-85, a bacterial lysate and immune system modulator, already approved in oral form for the prevention of recurrent respiratory tract infections. Trial aims to deepen and understanding of OM-85-Intranasal (IN) and explore its potential impact on asthma management when administered as a nasal spray. (Geneva) OM Pharma, a global Geneva-based biotech and leader in bacterial lysate products, in collaboration with Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM announce the dosing of the first participant in a Phase Ia/Ib clinical trial evaluating the safety and tolerability of OM-85-Intranasal (IN) in 27 healthy volunteers during Phase Ia and 14 patients with mild asthma during Phase Ib.