Hannover, Germany. Tomorrow’s patients will enjoy the benefit of far more patient-centric approaches to treatment – approaches which fully take the patient’s individual traits into account. This will open up new avenues in the prevention and treatment of auto-immune disease, cancer and infections. Personalized medicine technology is one of the hottest topics to be featured at BIOTECHNICA 2013, which takes place from 8 to 10 October in Hannover. At a dedicated marketplace for Personalized Medicine Technologies, scientists and industry experts will be showcasing their latest advances and signalling their interest in new partnerships and commercial projects.
One of modern medicine’s most outstanding breakthroughs is the ability to fine-tune cancer treatments to the molecular properties of a specific patient’s cancer. Due to this progress in our understanding of molecular processes, together with the advent of new immunological and biochemical test systems as well as innovative imaging processes, it is already possible to assess potential side-effects and the suitability of specific therapies for any given patient.
At BIOTECHNICA, major attention will be given to product innovations, new concepts and initiatives in the field of personalized medicine. Recent developments are opening up new horizons and numerous opportunities for companies and research institutes in such areas as IT, biobanks and diagnostics. The Marketplace Personalized Medicine Technologies offers the ideal arena for suppliers and users of innovative medical technology to meet and discuss new scientific findings and techniques. For research institutes and universities, but also for representatives of pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies, diagnostics, biobanks and laboratories, the Marketplace provides a valuable platform for presenting and discussing new developments in diagnostics and therapeutics.
One of the outstanding representatives of this sector at BIOTECHNICA is the Ci3 cluster for individualized immunotherapy. The Ci3 cluster networks players from business, research, health care and politics with the aim of establishing the Rhine-Main region, a centre of the pharmaceuticals industry, as a leading global hub for individualized forms of immunotherapy. The cluster comprises more than 120 partners, including pharmaceutical companies, numerous small and medium-sized companies and academic research institutes. “It is foreseeable that individualized medicine will play a major role in immunotherapy”, says Dr. Andrea Schilz, a senior member of Ci3 Management UG. “The objective of Ci3 is to develop forms of medical treatment that make use of the immune system and ensure that such innovative customized therapies are available to patients. Our lighthouse projects focus on research into stratified and individualized vaccines to treat solid tumours and the development of new forms of treatment for coeliac disease.”
In addition to Ci3 there will be other leading-edge clusters representing German medical research at BIOTECHNICA: the Biotech Cluster Rhine-Neckar (BioRN) based in Heidelberg focuses on cell-based and molecular medicine, the m4 cluster from Munich specializes in targeted therapy and personalized medicine, while the Medical Valley cluster in Erlangen in the European Metropolitan Region Nuremberg is another renowned cluster.
All these clusters have collaborated with the industry associations representing the pharmaceutical companies engaged in research, vfa and vfa bio, in order to stage the Forum at the Marketplace Personalized Medicine Technologies. Every morning and afternoon, on each of the three days of the trade fair, they will present an interesting program of talks and presentations. On Tuesday, the first day of the event, representatives from the relevant associations and leading clusters will kick off the discussion with an introduction to the progress achieved and the current status of personalized medicine, including the associated science and techniques. The Forum will also highlight the different directions being pursued in cancer research. For instance, Dr. Frank Kischkel, CEO at TherapySelect, will be speaking on “Cancer Therapy: Drug Treatment Testing before Therapy”, while Dr. Ralph M. Wirtz, CEO and CSO at Stratifyer Molecular Pathology GmbH, will focus on “Third Generation Gene Signatures: Genomewide Sequencing and Subtype Specific Biomarkers”. Next-generation sequencing and biomarkers will be the keynotes of the trade fair program on Wednesday, while attention will be focussed on molecular imaging on the Thursday.
The full program can be viewed online at www.biotechnica.de.
About BIOTECHNICA
BIOTECHNICA opens its gates again for the 20th time from 8 to 10 October 2013. As Europe’s No.1 Event for Biotechnology, the Life Sciences and Lab Technology, BIOTECHNICA is the leading meeting-place for this sector. BIOTECHNICA puts the focus on technological developments and innovations from R&D, as well as biotech products and applications in the areas of medicine, food production, industry and the environment. The event also provides a global platform for a broad range of services for the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. The trade show is augmented by a program of international conferences, special presentations and workshops.
Number of characters (incl. spaces): 5,490
Your contact at Deutsche Messe for further information:
Katharina Siebert
Tel.: +49 511 89-31028
E-mail: katharina.siebert@messe.de
Further press releases and digital photos can be downloaded at:
www.biotechnica.de/pressservice
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