topic Hightech Strategy

Developing Therapies Based on Regenerative Medicine

Organ transplants are already producing quite remarkable results. In addition, procedures to replace specific cell, tissue and organ functions are also enabling many patients to survive serious illnesses. But we also know that this is not sufficient: There are already considerable shortages of suitable donor organs. This is creating increasing demand for regenerative medicine. Rejection reactions still mean that some patients require a second organ transplant. This situation is leading to the deaths of many thousands of patients in Germany each year - patients who would have had very good chances of survival given appropriate treatment. In order to counter these difficulties, researchers are working hard to develop or advance technical replacement methods. However, these methods are usually either limited to very specific fields of application or impair the patient's quality of life. Research approaches that set out to replace a lost organ function by biological means are therefore significantly more promising in many areas of application.

The long-term goal of research into regenerative medicine is to find out more about cell, tissue and organ functions and regeneration and to develop appropriate therapies. This requires first of all analysing the potential and the possible risks of using stem and precursor cells for regenerative medicine. The new therapeutic procedures are intended to provide improved and comprehensive treatment involving the biological replacement of organ functions. Such procedures are particularly important in areas where transplants are currently not an option.

Translational Centres

In order to tackle these tasks, three Translational Centres were established in Leipzig, Berlin and Rostock between 2006 and 2009 with significant support from the BMBF, assisted by the Länder of Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxony and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.   

Researchers and clinicians at the centres are developing innovative regenerative therapies with the support of industry. Apart from conducting research on stem cells, they are also developing novel biomaterials and in vitro tissue cultures.

The Berlin-Brandenburg Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), which was founded in 2006, is a joint project involving the Charité University Hospital, Berlin and two Helmholtz centres - the Helmholtz Centre Geesthacht and the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine. One of the main aims of the BCRT's work is to strengthen the body's own self-healing and regenerative capacities to deal with acute and chronic diseases. The Translational Centre for Regenerative Medicine (TRM) in Leipzig, which was also founded in 2006, covers fields ranging from the replacement of damaged tissue with artificial implants to biological replacements using engineered tissue and the simulation of the body's own repair processes. Both the BCRT and the TRM started their second four-year funding phase in 2011, following a successful evaluation of the first phase. The BMBF's funding totals 15 million euros per funding phase and centre.

The third translational centre is the Reference and Translation Center for Cardiac Stem Cell Therapy (RTC) in Rostock. The RTC is performing the world's first "Phase three" clinical trials in this field of medicine. Apart from studying the methods and procedures that have been developed, researchers are also scrutinizing the regulations for using and licensing advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMP). The project will thus also be able to serve as a reference for future developments in the field of stem cell research. This centre received BMBF funding of 3.4 million euros during the period 2009 to 2011.

BMBF-funded Translational Centres

• Berlin-Brandenburg Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Charité Berlin
• Translational Centre for Regenerative Medicine (TRM), Leipzig University
• Reference and Translation Center for Cardiac Stem Cell Therapy (RTC), Rostock University

New methods and procedures

The funding measure entitled "Development and validation of methods and procedures of regeneration technology for use in medicine" provides funding above all to collaborations between science, university hospitals, industry - especially SMEs - as well as licensing authorities and funding bodies. The measure sets out to promote the economically sustainable, interdisciplinary, evidence-based exploitation of regeneration technologies, including stem cell-based procedures, and to thus pave the way for their commercialization. The Federal Government has provided funding of 15 million euros for these measures between 2008 and 2012.

German-US cooperation in the field of regenerative medicine

Since 2010, the Federal Ministry of Research has been providing funding to scientists in Germany who are participating in and complementing existing projects in American calls for proposals in the field of regenerative medicine. Funding is provided on the basis of a "Memorandum of Understanding" between the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) of 2009.

The CIRM is a state funding agency which was specifically set up to promote stem cell research for medical applications. It is being granted a total of three billion US dollars over a ten-year period. There are arrangements for German researchers to take part in CIRM research programmes, so-called awards, under a special agreement between the BMBF and the CIRM. The German researchers operate in close cooperation with American scientists within the framework of collaborative projects.
 

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  topic Research

  Stem Cell Research for Alternative Treatment Options

  Many illnesses and accidents lead to the destruction of tissue or the loss of entire organs. Despite the wide range of established medical procedures, it is often not possible to cure the patient. In serious cases, the patient needs an organ transplant to survive. Although there has been great progress in the field of transplantation medicine, the lack of donor organs and the long-term effects of immunosuppression mean that a transplant is not always an option. Stem cells enable alternative treatment options. The BMBF supports stem cell research that complies with the legal requirements.
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