Focus on Gene and Cell Therapies: International Experts Highlight Opportunities and Challenges
Bad Homburg v. d. Höhe/Berlin, May 20, 2026 – Gene and cell-based therapies (GCT) are among the key technologies in biomedical research and healthcare. They open up new possibilities for treating severe and previously incurable diseases while simultaneously strengthening Germany’s position as a biotech hub. But how close are GCTs really to transforming everyday clinical practice? What hurdles still stand in the way? What can we learn from other countries?
Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung launches online proposal platform
Bad Homburg v. d. Höhe, May 12, 2026 – The Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung (EKFS) has launched a new online proposal platform. Researchers are now able to submit their proposals digitally and to also manage their projects directly in the portal. The aim is to make the submission of proposals more transparent, efficient, and user-friendly. Technical implementation of the new portal is being carried out by ace Neue Informationstechnologien GmbH, the provider of the xFound funding management platform.
Medizin der nächsten Generation durch Datenwissenschaft: Else Kröner Forschungskolleg startet an der Universitätsmedizin Halle
Ziel des Forschungskollegs „CARTESIAN“ ist es, klinische Expertise und datengetriebene Forschung enger miteinander zu verzahnen. Im Mittelpunkt der fünf ausgewählten Projekte stehen Krebs- und altersassoziierte Erkrankungen. Die Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung (EKFS) fördert das Programm mit 1,3 Millionen Euro.
Cell-based biomarkers for non-invasive diagnosis of coronary artery disease derived from multiOmics factor analysis
Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the most common and serious cardiovascular diseases. It is often only detected late using complex procedures such as CT scans or cardiac catheterization. The project therefore pursues a new approach: Based on a collaboration between Konstantin Stark (Cardiology, LMU) and Matthias Heinig (Computational Biology, Helmholtz Munich) the scientists aim to develop a simple blood test that can detect the disease early and without burdensome interventions.
May 2026: $$ Blinatumomab in Combined Immune Thrombocytopenia and Antiphospholipid Syndrome
Project description:
When two rare autoimmune diseases develop simultaneously — immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), in which the immune system attacks the body's own platelets, and antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), which causes life-threatening blood clots — a dangerous dilemma arises: the body risks bleeding and clotting at the same time.
Multiomic analyses for predictive diagnostics and monitoring of gene therapy in metachromatic leukodystrophy
Metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) is a rare genetic disorder of the nervous system, which, if left untreated, leads to severe disability and death in early childhood. New treatment options such as gene therapy are showing promising results, but they are only effective in the pre-symptomatic stage. A preliminary study has already successfully established a program for screening newborns to enable pre-symptomatic diagnoses.