News and Trends 12 Sep 2018 Airbus Will Use Recombinant Spider Silk to Build Lightweight Planes Airbus has signed a partnership with German biotech AMSilk for the development of a new biomaterial to be used in the construction of future high-performance planes. Spider silk is known for having outstanding strength and flexibility. AMSilk uses engineered bacteria to produce spider silk protein, which is then used to create materials with a wide […] September 12, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Best in Biotech 10 Sep 2018 10 Biotech Companies in Berlin You Should Know The vibrant startup scene of the German capital has attracted many biotechs to make it their home. Here are ten biotech companies in Berlin to keep an eye on. Well-known for its history and rich cultural scene, Berlin is also a hotspot for startups of all kinds (including us!). As the headquarters of the successful […] September 10, 2018 - 6 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 16 Aug 2018 Pfizer Offers €374M for German mRNA Flu Vaccine BioNTech, based in Mainz, Germany, has entered into a partnership with Pfizer worth up to $425M (€374M) to develop an mRNA-based flu vaccine, which could be produced much more quickly than current flu vaccines. Messenger RNA (mRNA) is one of the building blocks living organisms use to create proteins from genes. BioNTech is developing prophylactic […] August 16, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Alexander Burik Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 2 Aug 2018 Tomato DNA Could Help Uncover Counterfeit Breast Implants Counterfeit breast implants can harm patients’ health and even threaten their lives. A German research team is using tomato DNA tags to tell the ‘real thing’ apart from frauds. The silicone used in implants need to have a high-quality to prevent silicone from leaking out of the implant. As a result, the silicone used in […] August 2, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Alexander Burik Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 20 Jul 2018 German Private Equity Firm Raises €90M for Life Sciences and Medtech SHS has raised €90M in the first closing of its fifth fund dedicated to companies in life sciences and medtech. SHS, based in Tübingen, is aiming to raise a total of €150M for its fifth fund. In this first closing, around half of the €90M raised came from existing investors including professional pension insurers and family […] July 20, 2018 - 1 minutemin - By Alexander Burik Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 12 Jul 2018 Collaboration Worth Over €1Bn Could Give Rise to New Cancer Immunotherapies Genmab is partnering with the German company Immatics to develop immunotherapies directed against three cancer targets. Genmab has offered Immatics, based in Tuebingen, Germany, an upfront payment of $54M (€46M) in addition to milestone payments worth up to $550M (€470M) for each product. Genmab has a market cap of €60Bn ($70Bn). The funding will be […] July 12, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Alexander Burik Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 8 Jun 2018 The Textile Industry May Soon Turn to Insects to Help Produce Fabrics German researchers are exploring ways of using chitosan, which is derived from a component of insect skin called chitin, to replace toxic chemicals in the production of textiles. The researchers, who are based at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology in Stuttgart, plan to commercialize their technology and are already working with several […] June 8, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Alexander Burik Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 4 Jun 2018 Meet the German Biotech Behind Adidas’ Biodegradable Shoes The synbio company AMSilk is drawing inspiration from nature to produce sustainable materials for applications ranging from clothing to medicine. I spoke to CEO Jens Klein to find out more about the innovative biodegradable material that has caught Adidas’ eye. In 2016, Adidas showed the world the first prototype of a new running shoe that, […] June 4, 2018 - 5 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 31 May 2018 A Trojan Horse of Nanoparticles Could Fight Fungal Infections in Grapevines German researchers have developed nanoparticles that can protect grapevines from a fungal disease that causes great financial damage to winegrowers each year. A research team at the University of Mainz, led by Frederik Wurm, has developed a nanotechnology that can protect and heal grapevines from infestation by the fungal disease Esca. The technology is made of […] May 31, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Alexander Burik Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 30 May 2018 Biotech in Germany Celebrates the Closing of a €300M Fund High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), a VC with a long track of biotech investments in Germany, has closed a new fund could benefit the country’s biotech scene. High-Tech Gründerfonds is a German VC that provides seed funding to high-tech startups, including several in the biotech space. The firm has now announced the final closing of a third […] May 30, 2018 - 1 minutemin - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 14 May 2018 German Biotech Expands Oncology Deal with Bluebird bio to $1.5Bn Medigene and bluebird bio are increasing the number of cancer targets against which to develop TCR candidates, raising their already huge deal to a massive $1.5Bn. In September 2016, Medigene and bluebird bio partnered to develop T cell receptor-modified T cells (TCR-Ts) as candidates for cancer immunotherapy treatments. Medigene was offered up to $250M per each of […] May 14, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 11 Apr 2018 Forget Humira, a New Generation of Inflammation Treatments is on the Horizon Millions of people worldwide suffer from inflammatory diseases, and many are still waiting for effective treatments. A German company, InflaRx, might have one. We spoke to its founder and CEO, Niels Riedemann, to get the whole story about the company’s technology and its recent $106M IPO on NASDAQ. It might be hard to believe, but […] April 11, 2018 - 5 minutesmins - By Alexander Burik Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email