Maike Sander receives 2022 Albert Renold Prize
21.09.2022 / The newly appointed scientific director of the Max Delbrück Center is recognized for her pioneering stem cell work in diabetes. Her team studies the development and function of insulin-producing beta cells and aims to generate beta cells from stem cells, paving the way for therapeutic applications. … more
Keeping aggressive cancer cells in check
20.09.2022 / BRCA1/2-mutated tumor cells often survive treatment, whether it’s chemo- or radiotherapy, because they can repair therapy-induced DNA damage. A team led by Claus Scheidereit of the Max Delbrück Center has now reported in The EMBO Journal how blocking the TSG101 protein hinders these tumor cells from carrying out repair processes. … more
Inhibitor of lipid kinase PI3KC2α identified as potential new treatment of thrombosis
16.09.2022 / The lipid kinase PI3KC2α is a potential pharmacological target for the treatment of thrombosis and, possibly, cancer. Researchers from the Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP) have now identified a potent inhibitor of its activity that serves as a lead for further drug development. … more
Million euro support for MyoPax
06.09.2022 / MyoPax, a new spin-off of the Max Delbrück Center and Charité, receives a 1.3 million euros loan to jump-start its entrepreneurial activities. The start-up develops regenerative therapies for previously incurable muscle diseases using its innovative muscle stem cell technology. … more
With patience and a green thumb
02.09.2022 / Viola Ehrig is the green-thumbed gardener who works hard to ensure it’s not only science and innovation that flourish at the Berlin-Buch campus, but trees and flowers as well. She and her colleague Steve Kossack provide stimulating surroundings for everyone at the science campus, including employees of the MDC. … more
How new structures evolve
01.09.2022 / Mammals possess a novel gene that controls a novel structure in nerve cells. Researchers at the Max Delbrück Center and the Milner Centre for Evolution have discovered it and describe it in the journal „Molecular Biology and Evolution”. … more
SARS-CoV-2 can trigger chronic fatigue syndrome
31.08.2022 / SARS-CoV-2 has long been suspected of causing chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). A team of researchers from Charité and Max Delbrück Center now provides scientific evidence in the journal “Nature Communications”. The researchers also describe a similar clinical picture with a presumably different cause. … more
Stolen DNA strengthens immune diversity
30.08.2022 / To combat pathogens, the immune system needs an enormous number of different antibodies. In an MDC study, a group led by BIH professor Kathrin de la Rosa has now described in the journal PNAS a “stealing” mechanism that contributes to antibody diversity. … more
Eckert & Ziegler with Successful First Half of 2022
11.08.2022 / Eckert & Ziegler Strahlen- und Medizintechnik AG (ISIN DE0005659700, SDAX) increased sales by 19% to EUR 106.8 million in the first half of the year. At EUR 15.4 million, net income was down on the same period of the previous year, in which the sale and associated deconsolidation of the tumor irradiation device division generated exceptional income of approximately EUR 9.4 million. Adjusted for this one-off effect, consolidated net income attributable to EZAG shareholders increased by around 20% year-on-year from EUR 12.8 million to EUR 15.4 million. Higher sales of industrial products and radiopharmaceuticals as well as favorable exchange rates contributed to this growth in earnings. … more
How pathogenic gene variants lead to heart failure
05.08.2022 / Cardiomyopathy is not a uniform disease. Rather, individual genetic defects lead to heart failure in different ways, an international consortium reports in “Science”. MDC researcher Norbert Hübner is one of the senior authors. … more
Eckert & Ziegler Affiliate to Receive Multi-Million Euro Grant from the European Defense Fund for Development of Medical Countermeasures
04.08.2022 / Myelo Therapeutics GmbH, an Affiliate of Eckert & Ziegler Strahlen- und Medizintechnik AG (ISIN DE0005659700, SDAX) and member of a pan-European consortium of research and industry partners, was selected to receive grants worth approximately 17 million Euro for the development of its medical countermeasure (MCM) against acute radiation syndrome. The current program has the potential to advance its MCM candidate towards a marketing authorization application at the end of the four-year funding period. … more
Strengthening the immune response to blood cancer
24.07.2022 / Armin Rehm and Uta Höpken want to improve our immune defenses against cancer. They have recently shown in human cells what was previously only possible in mouse models. Their findings, published in Molecular Therapy, have raised the chances of a highly effective immunotherapy being developed for blood cancer. … more
How the zebrafish repairs a broken heart
22.07.2022 / An MDC research team led by Jan Philipp Junker and Daniela Panáková has found that zebrafish can regenerate heart tissue after injury. Connective tissue cells play an important role in the process by temporarily entering an activated state, as the team reports in “Nature Genetics”. … more
In-depth profiling of single cells
21.07.2022 / Single-cell analyses provide a wealth of molecular and genetic information. A team led by MDC researcher Uwe Ohler is using machine learning to combine these data and produce meaningful profiles of the cells. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is now funding the project. … more
Eckert & Ziegler Affiliate Receives Further NIAID Funding for Clinical Development
21.07.2022 / Myelo Therapeutics GmbH, an Affiliate of Eckert & Ziegler Strahlen- und Medizintechnik AG (ISIN DE0005659700, SDAX), has announced that the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, extended their contract to advance the development of the new chemical entity Myelo001 to mitigate the acute radiation syndrome. The extension into year three of the three-year contract provides additional $ 2 million USD to Myelo Therapeutics to develop clinical-stage Myelo001 as an oral formulation MCM for the treatment of Hematopoietic Acute Radiation Syndrome (H-ARS). Initially awarded in April 2020, the total contract is valued at up to $ 6.5 million USD over three years, extending until March 2023. … more
Eckert & Ziegler and PRECIRIX Sign Agreement on Priority Supply of the Therapeutic Radioisotope Actinium-225 (Ac-225)
20.07.2022 / Eckert & Ziegler (ISIN DE0005659700, SDAX) and the Belgian biotech company PRECIRIX NV (PRECIRIX) have signed an agreement for the supply of Actinium-225. This gives PRECIRIX priority access to Eckert & Ziegler's high-purity, non-carrier-added Actinium-225, which is used for the labeling of trial drugs in radionuclide therapy. … more
Unchartered territory in the human genome
14.07.2022 / An international consortium brings together 7,200 segments of the human genome that are virtually unexplored and presents a roadmap for integrating them into genome databases in “Nature Biotechnology”. They could hold information about what sets humans apart from other animals. … more
LegoChem Biosciences and Glycotope Announce Research Collaboration and License Agreement for an Antibody for use as Antibody Drug Conjugate
12.07.2022 / LegoChem Biosciences Inc. (LCB) and Glycotope GmbH (Glycotope) have signed a Research Collaboration and License Agreement to develop an antibody drug conjugate (ADC) by combining LCB's proprietary ADC technology with one of Glycotope's investigational tumor targeting antibodies. … more
Eckert & Ziegler Becomes Contract Manufacturer for Clinical Development Candidates Based on Lutetium-177 and Actinium-225
06.07.2022 / Eckert & Ziegler (ISIN DE0005659700, SDAX) has signed an agreement with the U.S. pharmaceutical company Ratio Therapeutics Inc. for the joint development and manufacture of innovative radiopharmaceutical products based on Lu-177 and Ac-225. The agreement covers the development of a validated manufacturing process as well as the GMP-compliant production of clinical investigational products. Ratio Therapeutics will use the newly built GMP suites at the Eckert & Ziegler production site near Boston, MA, USA, from July 2022 for this purpose. … more
A fine-tuned gene editor
23.06.2022 / The molecular tool CRISPR-Cas9 can be used to treat inherited blood disorders, but this may cause unintended genetic alterations. A team led by MDC researchers Klaus Rajewsky and Van Trung Chu has now presented an approach in “Science Advances” that minimizes such adverse consequences. … more
What makes blood vessels grow?
20.06.2022 / Blood vessels must adapt their growth to the nutrients available in their surroundings so that they can keep organs adequately supplied. A team led by Michael Potente has identified two proteins that are important for this process and published their findings in Nature Metabolism. … more
Maike Sander named to lead the Max Delbrück Center
17.06.2022 / Maike Sander has been selected to direct the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC). The Supervisory Board appointed the diabetes researcher and professor of pediatrics and cellular and molecular medicine as the Scientific Director and Chair of the Board on June 16, 2022. … more
Cancer Grand Challenge: Solving the mystery of DNA rings
16.06.2022 / Pediatric oncologist Anton Henssen and a group of researchers from the US and the UK have won funding for a Cancer Grand Challenge. The international team will receive almost €24 million to research the role that ring-shaped strands of DNA play in the development of cancer, and how to fight them. … more
AI identifies cancer cells
10.06.2022 / How do cancer cells differ from healthy cells? A new machine learning algorithm called “ikarus” knows the answer, reports a team led by MDC bioinformatician Altuna Akalin in the journal Genome Biology. The AI program has found a gene signature characteristic of tumors. … more
Immunotherapy may get a boost
09.06.2022 / T cells are usually very good at eliminating diseased cells. But they seem to fail when it comes to tumor cells. In JCI Insight, MDC teams led by Armin Rehm and Uta Höpken describe what inhibits this immune function, how they can release the brake and boost the immune response against cancer. … more
Creating protein maps of tumors
20.05.2022 / A technique called Deep Visual Proteomics helps shed new light on cancer cell properties, a German-Danish team now reports in “Nature Biotechnology”. Fabian Coscia co-developed the new method and will further refine it at the MDC – with the aim of finding therapies for even resistant tumors. … more
Eckert & Ziegler with Sales Growth in the First Quarter of 2022
12.05.2022 / Eckert & Ziegler Strahlen- und Medizintechnik AG (ISIN DE0005659700, TecDAX) increased its sales by 13% to EUR 49.9 million in the first quarter of 2022. The net profit of EUR 6.7 million or EUR 0.32 per share was below the previous year's quarter. This earnings gap compared to the previous year is due to a one-off effect of around EUR 6.8 million in the first quarter of 2021, in which the Group sold its tumour irradiation business at a profit. Despite the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the Q1 figures reflect a stable start to the year. … more
Eckert & Ziegler Cooperates with Czech Research Center UJF to Produce Pharmaceutical Alpha Radioisotopes
11.05.2022 / Eckert & Ziegler AG (ISIN DE0005659700, TecDAX), a specialist in medical radioisotopes, has entered into a long-term cooperation agreement with the Nuclear Physics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences (Ústav jaderné fyziky, UJF) to produce the alpha emitter Actinium-225. The agreement envisions Eckert & Ziegler to provide the UJF research center with several million euros for investments in equipment and hot cells, as well as radium-226 as a starting material for experiments and irradiations. In return, the Eckert & Ziegler group gets exclusive access to the capacities of a pilot unit being built within the next two years close to Prague and joint rights to the process steps developed for a large-scale Ac-225 commercial production. … more
FMP & LMU spin-off Tubulis closes €60 million Series B financing to accelerate its ADC Pipeline
04.05.2022 / Tubulis has a set of proprietary technologies for producing novel and particularly stable antibody drug conjugates (ADCs). Their portfolio enables the company to link a wide range of drugs to an antibody specific to the relevant indication by way of stable coupling (conjugation). One positive aspect of this is that adverse side effects in healthy tissue can be minimized, since biophysical properties of the ADC are optimized and the drug is prevented from separating from the antibody prematurely, a common side effect from current compounds on the market. In addition, the company’s proprietary technologies offer the potential to generate previously inaccessible protein-drug combinations, enabling a broader therapeutic window. … more
ERC Advanced Grant for cardiac research at MDC
26.04.2022 / The contractile and elastic properties of the heart are finely tuned. This is a prerequisite for the cardiac cycle and efficient adaptation. At the MDC, Michael Gotthardt investigates the underlying molecular and biomechanical mechanisms. He is awarded with an ERC Advanced Grant for this work. … more
Where science turns into business
25.04.2022 / On April 25, 2022, Federal Commissioner for East Germany, Minister of State Carsten Schneider, and Governing Mayor of Berlin Franziska Giffey visited Campus Berlin-Buch to see how the “Zukunftsort” (place of the future) is developing. … more
COVID-19 therapy: better in combination than alone
13.04.2022 / More and more drugs are available for the treatment of COVID-19. Researchers from Charité, FU and MDC in Berlin have investigated the mechanisms of action of antiviral and anti-inflammatory substances. In the journal "Molecular Therapy" they describe that a combination of both works best. … more
Eckert & Ziegler: Radboud University Medical Center Netherlands to Image First Patient with PENTIXAFOR
08.04.2022 / Radboud University Medical Center (RUMC) in Nijmegen, one of the largest centres of excellence in the Netherlands for adrenal diseases, treated the first patient with primary aldosteronism with the Ga-68-based diagnostic PENTIXAFOR as part of the CASTUS study. … more
High-ranking naked mole-rats are more resilient
06.04.2022 / Naked mole-rats are full of surprises. The latest is that higher-ranked mole-rats most likely have an immunological advantage over animals with lower social status, a discovery made by Professor Gary Lewin’s lab at the MDC. The team is now reporting its findings in Open Biology. … more
Science you can touch
05.04.2022 / Claudia Jacob is a trained biologist who has a passion for explaining how things work. As head of the Life Science Learning Lab (Gläsernes Labor) on Campus Berlin-Buch, she gives schoolchildren a hands-on opportunity to explore the life sciences – from conducting lab experiments to discussing ideas with scientists – and perhaps even a chance to become a scientist themselves one day. … more
Award-winning science communication
04.04.2022 / One of the MDC's most cited press releases last year revealed that naked mole-rats speak in different dialects. The communications team now has another reason to feel proud of this particular press release, because it has won first prize in this year's Award for Science Communication presented by science information service idw (Informationsdienst Wissenschaft). … more
Eckert & Ziegler with Record Results in FY 2021 and Positive Outlook
30.03.2022 / Eckert & Ziegler Strahlen- und Medizintechnik AG (ISIN DE0005659700, TecDAX) achieved sales of EUR 180.4 million in fiscal year 2021 (previous year: EUR 176.1 million). The consolidated net income for the year reached a new record level of EUR 34.5 million (previous year: EUR 22.9 million) or EUR 1.67 per share (previous year: EUR 1.11). … more
Eckert & Ziegler to Supply Canadian Alpha-9 Theranostics with Lutetium-177 for Clinical Trials
23.03.2022 / Eckert & Ziegler (ISIN DE0005659700, TecDAX) has executed with the Canadian biotech company Alpha-9 Theranostics Inc. (Alpha-9) a clinical supply agreement for Eckert & Ziegler’s medical radioisotope Lutetium-177 (non-carrier-added 177Lu). The isotope will be used for the clinical development of Alpha-9´s investigational drugs. … more
Eckert & Ziegler Extends Supply Agreement with Sirtex Medical to Chinese Market
22.03.2022 / Eckert & Ziegler AG (ISIN DE0005659700, TecDAX) and Sirtex Medical (Sirtex) have extended their long-term supply agreement for the use of yttrium-90 in Sirtex microspheres for the treatment of liver cancer to the Chinese market. The agreement guarantees EZAG a significant share of the growing global demand for Y90-based microspheres. From its production facilities in Braunschweig and Boston (MA), USA, Eckert & Ziegler supplies the Sirtex sites in Frankfurt, Boston, and Singapore with yttrium-90. … more
Cooperation for better medical imaging
14.03.2022 / The Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine and the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg and will cooperate in the field of medical imaging in the future. A cooperation agreement was signed on Friday, 11 March 2022 at the Research Campus in Berlin-Buch. … more
Using mRNA delivery to improve muscle strength
14.03.2022 / Mutations that lead to muscle atrophy can be repaired with the gene editor CRISPR-Cas9. A team led by ECRC researcher Helena Escobar has now introduced the tool into human muscle stem cells for the first time using mRNA, thus discovering a method suitable for therapeutic applications. … more
One step closer to artificial rhino eggs
10.03.2022 / To prevent the extinction of the northern white rhino, the international consortium BioRescue is attempting to create artificial egg cells from stem cells. A team led by MDC’s Sebastian Diecke and Micha Drukker of Leiden University has now revealed in Scientific Reports that they are one step closer to achieving this goal. … more
How SARS-CoV-2 takes over the cell's protein factory
10.03.2022 / The question of how the Covid virus takes over host cells and suppresses the body's defences has been the subject of much debate. Now a research team led by Marina Chekulaeva at the MDC has pinpointed the crucial mechanism involved. Their results have been published in the journal “RNA”. … more
Always toward the arteries
28.02.2022 / Until now, it was unknown how a new blood vessel obtains the suitable diameter. A team led by MDC researcher Holger Gerhardt has published a paper in the journal "Development" outlining how targeted migration of newly formed cells from the veins toward the arteries is crucial in this process. … more
Cholesterol-lowering drugs may slow down metastase
28.02.2022 / Many people have to take statins to lower their cholesterol levels. But statins may be able to do even more: Researchers led by Ulrike Stein of the ECRC and Robert Preißner of Charité report in Clinical and Translational Medicine that these drugs inhibit a gene that promotes cancer cell metastasis. … more
What the gut reveals about the heart
21.02.2022 / Changes in the gut microbiome can ultimately lead to cardiovascular disease. Yet some of the alterations appear to normalize in chronic conditions, a team led by ECRC researcher Sofia Forslund reports in Nature Medicine. This finding may have clinical implications. … more
New subtype of Omicron on the rise
11.02.2022 / Similar to the recent situation in Denmark, a new subvariant of Omicron known as BA.2 is now spreading in Berlin. This was revealed by an analysis of wastewater samples at the MDC in cooperation with the Berliner Wasserbetriebe and the Berlin lab of the amedes Group. The rapid emergence of BA.2 could prolong the current wave of COVID-19 infection. … more
Eckert & Ziegler to Supply Telix with Lutetium-177 for Clinical Trials
09.02.2022 / Eckert & Ziegler (ISIN DE0005659700, TecDAX) has executed with Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX:TLX, Telix) a comprehensive global supply agreement for Eckert & Ziegler’s therapeutic radioisotope Lutetium-177 (non-carrier-added 177Lu). The radiopharmaceutical will be used to advance Telix’s portfolio of Molecularly Targeted Radiation (MTR) investigational products. … more
ERC Proof of Concept Grant for Gaetano Gargiulo
08.02.2022 / High-throughput methods that help search for new cancer drugs often rely on oversimplified models. For example, they do not account for the most common cell states found in patients with cancer. MDC researcher Gaetano Gargiulo has now received an ERC Proof of Concept Grant to seek a solution to this problem. … more
Events
all events
07.11.2022, 09:00-
18.11.2022, 18:00
Fachkraft für Molekularbiologie (TÜV)
05.12.2022, 09:00-
05.12.2022, 17:00
GOOD CLINICAL PRACTICE (GCP)
06.10.2022, 09:00-
06.10.2022, 18:00
Bioinformatik im Labor 4.0