Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

Following an invitation from German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, French President Emmanuel Macron made the first official French state visit to Germany in 24 years. During their three-day schedule, both presidents also visited the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS in Dresden to highlight the importance of collaboration between France and Germany in ensuring Europe's technological sovereignty, particularly in the field of microelectronics.

Many new drug candidates end up failing because they cause serious side effects in clinical trials even though lab tests involving cell cultures have been successful. This is a common occurrence if the cells used come from animal tissue, for example. Specially prepared cell cultures made from human tissue known as human induced pluripotent stem (hiPS) cells enable greater reliability in testing, thereby also increasing the chances that a drug will be approved. Fraunhofer researchers have developed innovative solutions for optimized production of cells in bioreactors and unique cryotechnologies. This is paving the way for efficient real-world use of these cell cultures in toxicity testing and drug discovery.

Parkinson’s disease is one of the most prevalent neurodegenerative conditions worldwide. It causes motor impairments such as tremors, slow movement, muscle stiffness, and balance problems. Memory can also worsen as the disease progresses. The individual course of the disease cannot be predicted, so experts recommend regular, close patient monitoring to allow for rapid responses to any changes in symptoms. New technological tools aim to facilitate communication between doctors, caregivers, and patients and improve the care situation. In the ParkProReakt project, researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FIT are working with partners to create a digital platform and app that, used with wearables, will track the course of the disease in an effort to improve quality of life for Parkinson’s patients.

Nucleic acid-based medications such as mRNA vaccines offer tremendous potential for medicine and are opening up new therapeutic approaches. These active ingredients must be enclosed inside nanoparticles to ensure that they get to where they are needed inside the body’s cells. The Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology IPK and FDX Fluid Dynamix GmbH have worked together to develop a technology platform for the production of nanoparticles that can achieve particle quality and stability at levels previously out of reach: FDmiX, short for Fraunhofer Dynamic Mixing Technologies. Swiss chemical and pharmaceutical company Lonza has now licensed the technology for its own good manufacturing practice (GMP) production activities.