The future of health: Baden-Württemberg is leading the way
Healthcare research in the German Southwest has great innovative potential. What’s characteristic – science and industry work hand in hand.
The research which is probably most important to us because it concerns us the most is that about health. Whether we speak about pandemics or popular diseases, innovative solutions to public health threats are sought after world-wide. Baden-Württemberg is at the forefront of finding such future-ready medical solutions. This is of little surpise considering that the German Southwest is Germany’s top location of the healthcare industry, measured by the number of companies respectively employees. Moreover, the healthcare research landscape is diverse: It takes place at eight research universities, 14 universities of applied sciences, five university clinics and 21 non-university research institutions.
Three examples from research and applied research, showcased in a short movie by Baden-Württemberg International for its brand „career start bw“, highlight the state’s potential to provide original inventions for the future of health.
Infection control made easy
Spindiag in Freiburg, a spin-off from the renowned research institute Hahn-Schickard, developped a rapid test procedure in which very different pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2can be detected within a short time.
„There’re a lot of applications that detect the corona virus automatically. What makes us special, is the ease of handling. Our system is designed for usage at the point of care and outside of laboratory for fast results where they are needed“, says Dr. Daniel Mark, CEO of Spindiag.
The fight against pathogenic bacteria
Or take the challenge of antibiotic resistance. Professor Dr. Andreas Peschel, Speaker of the Cluster of Excellence CMFI at the University of Tübingen, calls it „one of the big challenges for mankind“. Under his lead, a team of biologists, computer scientists and physicians developped a monoclonal antibody which can fight against the highly dangerous bacterium „Staphylococcus aureus“, a major cause for several life-threatening infections. The monoclonal antibody can restore the body's own defence and thus make the bacteria vulnerable to antibiotics.
The intervention room of the future
Besides multi-resistent bacteria, cancer is also a leading cause of death according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Scientists worldwide are working to advance on cancer therapies. At the Mannheim research campus M²OLIE (“Mannheim Molecular Intervention Environment“), researchers are trying to treat cancer patients with multiple metastases in one day by developing a highly efficient intervention environment – a process which normally takes weeks. In this project, as is typical for many successful research projects in the German Southwest, different experts work together in an interdisciplinary cooperation: Doctors, scientists, engineers, economists and IT scientists from six academic and 22 industry partners are involved.
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Author: Leonie Rörich