Made in Berlin-Buch

Precise images of the beating heart
Advanced cross-sectional imaging techniques such as CT, MRI or PET are not optimal for cardiac imaging, because of the blurring effect of rapid heart movements. Moreover, these techniques are not capable of providing real-time images. MRI.TOOLS has developed an innovative device called EasyACT which synchronizes the images based on the phonocardiogram.
Because it functions acoustically, interactions with magnetic fields and heat risks as well as shadows in CT or PET imaging can be avoided.   
The principle: The heart sounds are registered with a stethoscope, evaluated, and the information is passed on to the imaging devices.
The original idea comes from the group of Professor Niendorf of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine. MRI.TOOLS GmbH was founded in autumn 2010 to transform the idea into a marketable product. In October 2011 the device was certified for use in clinical practice.

www.mritools.com

Targeted, gentle treatment of prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in men. In Europe alone there are approximately 135,000 new cases annually. Brachytherapy has proved to be a highly effective and very gentle form of treatment for early-stage prostate cancer. Using a needle, millimeter-sized, low-level radioactive implants (seeds) are placed in a targeted area of the prostate. They provide optimal dose distribution in the irradiated tissue with minimal adverse effects on the surrounding organs.
LDR brachytherapy is highly effective, well tolerated, and is characterized by a short treatment time and a relatively fast physical recovery. LDR brachytherapy with medical products from Eckert & Ziegler BEBIG as IsoSeed® (individual seeds) or IsoCord® (seed chains) has been successfully performed in clinical practice for more than ten years.
Eckert & Ziegler BEBIG is the European leader in the field of permanent seed implantation and the world’s only provider of the complete range of brachytherapy products.

www.ezag.de

Accurate rapid test to detect toxins in food
Mold can ruin entire crops. Some mold metabolites are highly toxic, and if undetected in food, can be hazardous to health.
Does the food contain mold or is it mold-free? Until now producers and distributors – in particular of products containing nuts, coffee, fruit or grain –had to have their products analyzed in elaborate lab tests to answer this question.
Thanks to aokin this procedure can now be shortened. The Berlin-based company has developed a precision rapid test for this problem. The test enables the food industry to carry out a precise mold toxin analysis directly on site and in just a few minutes.
Now the product quality can be reliably assessed immediately upon import or receipt of the goods. Thus, the rapid test helps to reduce costs – and to improve consumer safety.

www.aokin.com

Innovative biotechnology in top form
For its GlycoExpressTM (GEX) technology platform the company Glycotope GmbH was awarded the Innovation Prize Berlin-Brandenburg in 2010. The technology platform is used to optimize biotechnologically produced drugs (biotherapeutics).
Through so-called “glycoengineering”, i.e. the optimization of complex glucose chains attached to proteins, cell lines are produced that have excellent biotechnical properties. These are then used to develop and produce much improved drugs, e.g. antibodies for cancer therapy.
GLYCOTOPE is a leading technology and service provider in the fields of glycomics and immunotherapy.

www.glycotope.com

The human immune system is trained to distinguish between “self” and “non-self” and to destroy foreign structures. By means of anchor molecules (receptors) of T cells, it recognizes antigens of bacteria or viruses and thus can target and destroy such invaders. Cancer cells, however, are the body’s own cells, which is why the immune system does not mount an attack but instead tolerates them. A research team led by Professor Thomas Blankenstein has now succeeded in genetically altering human T cells so that their receptors can specifically track and destroy certain tumor cells. More than ten years of research have thus been crowned with success. The start-up T-knife is now developing one of the first T cell receptor gene therapies in Germany on the Berlin-Buch campus using this technology.

Pjoto: David Ausserhofer / MDC

Founded in 2013 as a spin-off of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC), OMEICOS succeeded in bringing its drug candidate for atrial fibrillation from an early preclinical concept to clinical testing in just three years. OMT-28 is a small molecule with heart rhythm-stabilizing and cardioprotective activity. All previous data suggest that the scientists have found a way to treat atrial fi brillation causally for the first time. With classical drugs it is possible to treat the symptoms, but not the underlying heart disease. The active substance is a synthetic analogue of a metabolic product of omega-3 fatty acids, the biological relevance of which has been discovered in years of systematic comparative research at the MDC. The drug candidate OMT-28 could provide millions of patients with a safe and effective treatment option.

Photo: nicolas_ Bremen, Germany