Press

The work conducted by an interdisciplinary research team from the Center of Hybrid Nanostructures (University of Hamburg) and the ScreeningPort of the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME in Hamburg made it to the cover of the journal Biomaterials Science.

To date, there is neither a vaccine nor drugs for treating COVID-19 patients available. Researchers of the international consortium iCAIR® are working on the development of novel anti-infective agents to treat or prevent clinically significant diseases of the respiratory tract – and they recently started a project aimed at developing medications to combat the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. The Hamburg site of Fraunhofer IME contributes its expertise in drug discovery and drug repurposing based on automated high-throughput technology to this project.

Fraunhofer IME recently published a preprint article on a repurposing screen of 5.600 known drugs, clinical candidates and bioactives (Fraunhofer IME repurposing collection), which identified multiple inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro cellular toxicity in a phenotypic format using human (Caco-2) cells. The study was run by Fraunhofer IME in collaboration with the Goethe-University Frankfurt.

With the "COVID-19 Knowledge Space", Fraunhofer SCAI – together with Fraunhofer IME, Fraunhofer IAIS, the Information Center for Life Sciences ZBMED and other research partners – is opening a new kind of knowledge space with analysis tools and information on COVID-19. This website provides central services that allow access to publicly available data on current COVID-19 research. Fraunhofer IME at its site in Hamburg will contribute its expertise in linking chemical information of drug molecules with antiviral properties against COVID-19 and other data, such as toxicity and possible side effects.

A multinational team of scientists from the UK, Germany, and Spain, have published an authoritative article in the prestigious scientific journal Trends in Plant Science discussing how plant biotechnology can assist in the international response to pandemics, including COVID-19.

How can Fraunhofer contribute to the fight against the virus? Interview concerning the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic with Prof. Dr. Gerd Geißlinger, Executive Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME and Medical Research Officer of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, in an interview for the "Quersumme" (employee magazine of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft).

The Division for Translational Medicine of the Fraunhofer IME will be providing the key link between biologists and data scientists in the E4C consortium, which has received a grant of 3 million euros by the European Commission (EC) as part of the EC’s emergency funding to counter the coronavirus pandemic. Under the leadership of the Italian company Dompé, the consortium will combine virtual and natural screening methods to identify both novel and existing compounds for the treatment of patients infected by the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

PROXIDRUGS, the regional network with participation of the Branch of Translational Medicine and Pharmacology TMP of the Fraunhofer IME, the Goethe University and the Technical University Darmstadt, aims at developing active molecules for selective intervention, opening new therapeutic avenues. Within the “Clusters4Future” ideas competi-tion, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research has now selected the project for funding in the concept phase – as one of 16 finalists out of 137 proposals submitted.

An unpleasant tingling in the hands and feet, numbness, furry and burning sensations – these symptoms may indicate a neuropathy, a disease of the nervous system. If the pain persists for several months, it is referred to as chronic pain. By then, it is very difficult to treat, and the available drugs often have serious side effects. Researchers at the Translational Medicine and Pharmacology TMP branch of the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME have found a way to prevent the development of neuropathic pain early on.

Fraunhofer IME participates in the EU-IMI project imSAVAR as part of the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence for Immune-Mediated Diseases CIMD to develop innovative model systems for the evaluation of immunomodulatory therapeutics.