Regensburg BIOTECH Innovation Prize 2014

The BIOTECH Innovation Prize has been awarding application-oriented ideas from life science research on the Uni Campus in Regensburg since 2007. The purpose of the competition is not only to bring the excellent research in Regensburg to the public but also to bring people closer to their use of biotechnology. The prize aims to stimulate scientists to introduce their inventions as technology or as products onto the market, in other words via technology transfer to create a sustainable solution.

Dr Daniel Schweizer undertook his doctorate with Professor Göpferich who holds the Chair for Pharmaceutical Technology. This doctorate work was conducted in collaboration with Novartis Pharma AG where he currently works. In his summa cum laude work systems are examined, with which monoclonal antibodies from depots in the body over longer periods of time can be released in a controlled manner. With such applications of microencapsulation age-related macular degeneration for example, an eye disease from which two million people in Germany suffer, would be far better treatable.

Dr Daniel Schweizer has developed a carrier system with monoclonal antibodies and these have been able to be completely released from the medicine in application in animal modelling. In comparison to other release systems for proteins this is an excellent result. In a further carrier system he has been able to demonstrate that through complexing of the fluid state (microencapsulation) the therapeutic agent holds up to 35%. This is not linked to loss of efficacy of the antibodies; these can be completely recovered from the carrier system.

For further information see:
    •    BIOTECH Innovation Prize
    •    Kanzlei Dehmel & Bettenhausen