IBT Lower Saxony: Incubator for Biomedical Innovation awards 1.6 million euros
Funded HZI project "PROTON" develops technology against infections with Staphylococcus aureus
Yesterday, the lighthouse project of the state of Lower Saxony reached its latest milestone: At the second portfolio conference of the Institute for Biomedical Translation (IBT) Lower Saxony, a high-caliber jury selected projects from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research and the Hannover Medical School that will receive funding of over 1.6 million euros. A total of 25 million euros are available to the IBT Lower Saxony until 2028 to accelerate the transfer of cutting-edge research in the life sciences in Lower Saxony and to bring it out into the world in the form of startups and entrepreneurial ideas.
New startup ideas receive 1.6 million euros boost
Three projects each from the Hannover Medical School (MHH), the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG) and the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig presented their promising ideas with prospects for scaling and commercialization at yesterday's event. The teams of Prof. Mark Brönstrup (HZI - project 'PROTON') and Dr Verena Scheper (MHH - project 'Bacta Implants') can now celebrate as winners: The PROTON project will receive funding of around 890,000 euros and will develop a technology that enables the prevention of dangerous infections. The focus of the research is the pathobiont Staphylococcus aureus, which colonizes the skin and mucous membranes of around 20% of the population. S. aureus can suppress immune reactions, destroy tissue and cause complications such as skin, lung and bloodstream infections. The Bacta Implants project will receive funding of around 770,000 euros and will develop implants for long-term human therapy. These implants, which are specially adapted to the patient's individual anatomy, enable the targeted delivery of active ingredients to hard-to-reach areas in order to effectively treat sudden hearing loss.
"With the IBT Lower Saxony, we have created a platform that has started at the ideal time. Here, different areas of expertise come together to jointly develop innovative solutions and bring them to market quickly," says Prof. Thomas Sommer, Managing Director of the IBT Lower Saxony.
The nine projects presented cover a wide range of biomedical innovations in the fields of gene therapy, immunology, infection research, neuroscience, drug development and cell biology. A top-class jury with leading representatives from research and industry, including Dr Matthias Evers (Chief Business Officer, Evotec), Prof. Peter Hammann (Consultant Antibiotics/Natural Products Research), Prof. Stefan Meuer (Former Executive Director, Institute of Immunology, University Hospital Heidelberg), Prof. Helga Rübsamen-Schaeff (Founder and Member of the Supervisory Board of AiCuris AG), Dr Sven Wagner (Head of Business Development, Sartorius) selected the winning project.
The newly funded IBT projects will receive funding of over 1.6 million euros for a period of two years. In the first phase of funding from the IBT, rapid scientific and market-oriented development takes place so that a research idea becomes a business idea and a company can be founded promptly with a well-founded business plan. The focus then shifts to starting business activities and enabling further external financing.
After the second successful event, the IBT is already looking ahead: The next public startup ideas event will take place on November 27, 2024 in Göttingen. Further information on the first Lower Saxony-wide call for proposals, which runs until September 2, can be found on the initiative's website.
This press release, images for download and information on all finalists can also be found on our website: https://www.helmholtz-hzi.de/en/media-center/newsroom/news-detail/ibt-lower-saxony-incubator-for-biomedical-innovation-awards-16-million-euros
About the IBT Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is one of Germany's leading locations for biomedical research. Despite the state's internationally recognized research strength, the findings still find their way into medical applications too rarely or too slowly. This is why the IBT Lower Saxony was launched as a lighthouse project for the state of Lower Saxony. It supports the establishment of new startups in the field of biomedical research, attracts successful companies and investors, and strengthens the regional economy and makes it internationally visible.
The IBT Lower Saxony creates a fast track for biomedicine in Lower Saxony: Innovative ideas not only receive attractive financing options at the IBT, but also access to the entire first-class infrastructure and expertise of our shared ecosystem. The core goal is to transfer research results into new preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures as quickly as possible.
The cooperation was initiated by three leading scientific institutions in the region: the founding partners are the Hannover Medical School, the University Medical Center Göttingen and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Braunschweig. The startup funding of 25 million euros between 2023 and 2028 will be provided by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture and the Volkswagen Foundation.
In the pilot phase of the IBT Lower Saxony, the mechanisms of the ambitious incubator were already tested and optimized as part of two calls for proposals. The projects presented by the three founding institutions cover a wide range of innovations in the fields of gene therapy, immunology, infection research, neuroscience, drug development and cell biology. The IBT pilot project with a focus on the treatment of chronic kidney disease was launched in June 2023 with funding of 1.5 million euros.
You can find more information about the IBT Lower Saxony on our website: www.ibt-ls.de
Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research:
Scientists at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig and its other sites in Germany are engaged in the study of bacterial and viral infections and the body’s defense mechanisms. They have a profound expertise in natural compound research and its exploitation as a valuable source for novel anti-infectives. As member of the Helmholtz Association and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) the HZI performs translational research laying the ground for the development of new treatments and vaccines against infectious diseases. https://www.helmholtz-hzi.de/en
Contact:
Susanne Thiele, Spokesperson
susanne.thiele@helmholtz-hzi.de
Dr Charlotte Schwenner, Editor
charlotte.schwenner@helmholtz-hzi.de
Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research
Press and Communications
Inhoffenstr. 7
D-38124 Braunschweig
Germany
Phone: +49 531 6181-1400; -1406
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