newsdigest
May
In this section, biotechnologie.de has summarised a number of recent and relevant biotech news from the past month:
22 million euros for three new health regions +++ CureVac raises 27.6 million euros +++ Epigenetic switch paralyses learning ability in old age +++ Qiagen acquires rights to 70 food safety tests +++ Noxxon closes financing round with 33 million Euros +++ Tailor-made bitter blockers for more palatable medicines
22 million euros for three new health regions
Greifswald, Hamburg and Mannheim have prevailed in the second round of the BMBF’s ‘Health Regions of the Future’ competition. As the Federal Ministry of Education and Research announced on May 5 at the Capital Congress on Medicine in Berlin, concepts for applied health research in each of the three regions will be funded with 7.5 million euros over the coming four years. The health region Baltic Coast (Ostseeküste, Greifswald) will establish a coalition for action against multidrug-resistant bacteria under the name Hic@re (Health, Innovative Care and Regional Economy). These deadly microbes are a growing issue in the treatment of elderly or chronically ill patients. The region is intended to serve as a model for Germany for containing the spread of the pathogen. This will include the development of innovative intervention management covering the entire value chain – from basic research, to clinical intervention and health-economic evaluation.
With the Network for Mental Health, the ‘Healthcare Heart of the North’ Hamburg is taking on the challenge of improving the mental health of the populace. The Healthcare Heart is focused in particular on psychoses, depression, eating disorders, and alcohol abuse in adolescence. The goal of the metropolitan region Rhein-Neckar (Mannheim) is to improve provision for chronically ill patients. Health care structures geared to the needs of chronically ill patients will be set up using modern information technologies. The BMBF’s ‘Health Regions’ competition is intended to highlight the best approaches for health regions to network with regional stakeholders, and to develop concrete product- or process innovations. In 2008, an interdisciplinary jury chose 20 applicants from 85 health regions. These each received 100,000 euros to flesh out their concept, and to intensify cooperation in the region. Two of these regions, the health region of Stuttgart/Neckar-Alb (REGiNA) and North Brandenburg (FONTANE), were commended as health regions of the future in the first round of the competition in May 2009. These regions have received funding from the BMBF of around 15 million euros over four years to bring their concepts to completion.
CureVac raises 27.6 million euros
SAP founder and biotech investor Dietmar Hopp is putting his faith in the Tübingen-based biotechnology company CureVac and their immune-based therapies. Hopp BioTech holding GmbH & Co. KG, which is controlled by Hopp, managed to raise 27.6 million euros in a recent funding round. CureVac announced the results on 10 May. The fresh funds will be used to further develop its vaccines pipeline. The company is a specialist in messenger ribonucleic acid molecules (mRNA). These form the backdrop for ensuring that the information encoded in the genes is correctly translated into proteins. Because of their relative instability, the role of natural mRNA molecules as Therapeutic agents has been generally overlooked. Now, CureVac has managed to alter mRNAs so that they can be selectively applied to produce proteins that stimulate the immune system, to combat cancer for example. The candidate CV9103 for the treatment of prostate cancer is currently in a phase IIa clinical study with 21 patients. The first results are expected in the second half of 2010. The company is developing its CV9201 candidate for the treatment of non-small cell lung carcinoma in a phase I trial. “CureVac has so far raised a total of 65 million euros in capital since its spin-out from the University of Tübingen,” said Managing Director Ingmar Hoerr. The largest investor by far is Dietmar Hopp, who already contributed 35 million in the first round of financing in 2007. Curevac is currently working on developing its RNActive ® technology into a further business pillar. Alongside solid tumours, the mRNA fragments in the form of prophylactic vaccines are being lined up for testing in the area of infectious diseases. The development of RNA-based adjuvants, i.e. substances used as a booster in vaccines, is also in the works. “CureVac is in a strong position to become a major future player in the field of modern immunotherapy,” said Friedrich von Bohlen, Chief Executive of dievini Hopp BioTech holding GmbH & Co. KG.
Epigenetic switch paralyses learning ability in old age
Using mouse brain cells, Neuroscientists in Göttingen have discovered why ageing is so closely related to a decline in learning ability. The researcher team, which is headed by André Fischer from the European Neuroscience Institute, have reported in Science magazine (May 2010, Ed. 328, p.753) that specific genes in the genome of nerve cells in older mice are more densely packed, meaning that they cannot be read. The researchers focused in particular on the epigenetics of nerve cells in the hippocampus. This region of the brain is essential for learning. Moreover, the hippocampus is the first region to become damaged during Alzheimer's dementia. In young mice, over 1,500 hippocampal genes were switched on following the completion of learning tasks, while the equivalent figure in ageing mice (16 months) was almost zero. Thereby, the researchers observed changes in particular among the so-called histone proteins. The genetic molecule DNA is wrapped around these proteins like cable round a drum. When it is tightly wound, fewer genes can be read. With the help of modern sequencing methods, the researchers have now managed to take a close look at changes in the histones, and at the possible differences between young and aging mice. In the course of their work, they found the ‘switch’ that turns off the learning genes in aging mice: “The histone protein 4, which is normally attached to position 12 via an acetyl group, is deregulated. “This single change has the effect that no more learning more genes are activated. “Our research results demonstrate for the first time that there is a causal connection between epigenetic mechanisms and the loss of learning ability in old age,” said Dr. André Fischer, who was awarded the highly regarded European Young Investigator Award in 2007. According to the researchers, the new insights provide a path for treatment possibilities for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's. “Now that we know of this H4K12 switch, we can conduct a specific search for compounds that are capable of turning it back on,” said Fischer. The researchers have already made some progress in this direction following previous studies that revealed that histone acetylation can be achieved through artificial means through the administration of so-called HDAC inhibitors. A large number of studies worldwide have confirmed that changes in histone acetylation, for example through HDAC inhibitors, represent a good strategy for the treatment of senile dementia or Alzheimer's. “To treat patients, we still require specific and very targetedly applicable agents. Current HDAC inhibitors are non-specific, and have only an approximate effect. They are not suited to achieving acetylation exclusively in a specific position,” said Fischer.
Qiagen acquires rights to 70 food safety tests
Qiagen has purchased the rights for the marketing of 70 molecular food safety tests from the Berlin-based Institute for Product Quality (ifp). Germany's largest biotechnology company, which is officially based in Venlo in the Netherlands but has its headquarters in Hilden in North Rhine-Westphalia, made the announcement on 25 May. The price was not given. The 40 employees at ifp will continue to produce the kits in Berlin, although Qiagen will be free to integrate the tests into their own diagnostic solutions. “ifp test kits will become part of a PCR-based package of standardised products that are perfectly tailored to each other,” said ifp Director Wolfgang Weber. Initial sample preparation up to the final test result will come from a single source. The acquired tests, which are based on PCR methodology, cover a wide range of molecular targets, and enable the detection of prohibited genetically modified organisms, bacteria, and viruses in food, as well as of other unwanted foreign matter. Applied testing procedures, such as food analysis, represent only seven percent of turnover at Qiagen. This share is set to rise in the coming years, thinks Chairman of the Board Peer Schatz. “Applied testing procedures are an important growth market for our company,” he said. The demand for food testing will increase, driven by changing consumer awareness, more stringent regulatory requirements, as well as growing demands on the side of the food manufacturers. Further interesting application areas for Qiagen are testing procedures for forensic applications, veterinary medicine, and to prevent biohazards. The first test kits should be available from Qiagen in the fourth quarter of 2010. These will involve procedures for the detection of pathogens. The portfolio will then be expanded to the full number of 70 tests by 2012, said the company.
Noxxon closes financing round with 33 million euros
Noxxon Pharma AG has raised 33 million euros in a fourth round of funding. The Berlin-based biotechnology company specialises in mirror-image oligonucleotides, so-called Spiegelmers. Similarly to antibodies, the RNA molecules are designed to accumulate around specific proteins in the patient, providing higher retention times than comparable therapies. The most recent round of financing was led by NGN Capital, and complemented by existing investors TVM Capital, Sofinnova Partners, Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners, Seventure Partners, VC Fonds Technologie Berlin GmbH, Dow Venture Capital, FCP OP MEDICAL BioHealth Trends, IBG Beteiligungsgesellschaft Sachsen- Anhalt mbH, the Dieckell Group, and others. The raised capital will be used primarily to advance the three most important drug candidates from the Noxxon pipeline. NOX-E36 for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy is in phase I trials, as is NOX-A12 for haematological and solid tumours. NOX-H94 for anaemia in chronic diseases is still in the preclinical phase, but is likely to begin clinical testing soon. Noxxon’s Spiegelmer technology has already won over a number of pharmaceutical companies. In recent years, the Berlin company has announced development partnerships with Eli Lilly, Hoffmann-La Roche, and Pfizer. Also as regards financing, Noxxon appears to be well networked. A similarly large financial injection of €37 million was raised in the last round of financing in 2007.
Tailor-made bitter blockers for more palatable medicines
Researchers in Potsdam have found the first known substance that can selectively block the bitter taste of certain sweeteners. The tailor-made bitter blocker, called GIV3727, could be used to make drinks or medicines more palatable. Together with colleagues in the US, the researchers from the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke (DIfE) have reported on their results in the trade journal Current Biology (27 May, online). Artificial sweeteners often give products an unpleasant and bitter aftertaste. For the first time, the scientists have succeeded in finding a tailor-made ‘bitter blocker’ that can inhibit the sensors responsible for the bitter aftertaste. “Patent literature already features some molecules that suppress the bitter taste. These are non-specific, however, because they are based on sensory tests. We have now found specific receptor blockers, and can describe the mechanism,” said Wolfgang Meyerhof, Head of the Molecular Genetics department at the DIfE. This was achieved through a process of elimination: Several thousand compounds were tested for their ability to block human taste sensors for bitter taste. One of these – GIV3727 – shut down six out of 18 of these receptors in cell cultures – including those that are activated by the common sweeteners saccharin and acesulfame-K. For the researchers, the results are an important step towards clarifying the contribution made by individual receptors to the overall taste. Bitter blockers such as GIV3727 could help investigations into the impact of bitter compounds on the human body. Some studies suggest that bitter receptors play a role outside the taste system, and can also be found in the respiratory and digestive tracts. The researchers are currently investigating whether they are responsible for the detection of toxic substances in the air, or are involved in the regulation of the sugar metabolism. “Last but not least, our results could be used to improve the taste profile of finished products, drinks, and medicines. The latter could smooth the oral intake of analgesics or antibiotics in young children, or enable it at all,” thinks Jay Slack, chief scientist in charge of the Department of Molecular Biotechnology at the Givaudan Flavors Corporation.
