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Turning Science into Business Opportunities

In December 2008, Ascenion acquired equity in Vakzine Projekt Management GmbH (VPM), a company which was set up in 2002 as a public–private partnership by the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The goal was to create an entrepreneurial entity that would take on promising vaccine projects from academia and turn them into viable drug candidates. Since its foundation, VPM has screened over 150 academic vaccine projects, licensed the exclusive rights to four particularly promising ones, and has already started clinical trials for two of these. All this was done with an exceptionally lean organization managing a broad network of vaccine experts from industry, clinical and public institutions. The target indications of current projects are tuberculosis, cancer and cytomegaly.

For its unique approach in translational vaccine development, VPM was awarded the status of a ‘Landmark in the Land of Ideas’ by the ‘Germany – Land of Ideas’ initiative and its partner Deutsche Bank in the context of their nation-wide innovation contest. The award was presented on June 8th  during a network evening ‘VPM – Saving Lives’ hosted by VPM. Vaccine experts and network partners from industry, academia, technology transfer and politics were invited to learn about the company’s target indications, exchange experience and foster relations.

Meet us at the forthcoming events:

STS Forum, October 4–6, 2009, Kyoto, Japan

ASTP Fall Seminar, October 29 & 30, 2009, Krakow, Poland

BioEurope, November 2–4, 2009, Vienna, Austria 

Biotech Networkshop, February 24–26, 2010, Schloss Ringberg (Tegernsee),  Germany

BioVaria, April 20, 2010, Munich, Germany

News in Brief:

Partnership with nine Leibniz Institutes continued
Following 3 years of collaboration, all the partner institutions of the Leibniz Association decided to continue their cooperation with Ascenion as exclusive marketing partner. more

 
New partner from the Leibniz Association: IfN
Ascenion has also closed a partnership contract with the Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology (IfN) in Magdeburg. more

Alliance with TWINCORE 
Ascenion and TWINCORE - Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, Hanover, have signed an exclusive collaboration agreement for comprehensive IP asset management support. more

New assistant for Ascenion’s team
Since January this year, Christiane Schwarz has been assisting Ascenion’s management and co-ordinates travel for all her colleagues more

Rights to new ALL-test licensed to Medac
Ascenion has initiated and negotiated a licence agreement on behalf of Hanover Medical School (MHH) providing Medac with exclusive worldwide rights to a diagnostic test that can help guide the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). more

Fast diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases: Licence agreement with Roche Diagnostics
Researchers at the MHH Hospital for Cardiology and Angiology around Prof. Dr Kai C. Wollert have identified growth-differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) as a marker in the blood of cardiac patients more


Novel antibiotic against tuberculosis licensed to Inverness Medical
Ascenion has negotiated the agreement on behalf of an international consortium of patent owners including a Russian inventor, the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology Hans Knöll Institute (HKI) and the Institut Pasteur. more

FZB closes four collaboration contracts 
The FZB - Research Center Borstel - Leibniz Center for Medicine and Biosciences has entered into four alliances with industry: more

DIfE becomes member of the Life Science Foundation
Ascenion’s parent holding, the Life Science Foundation for the Promotion of Science and Research has a new member: the Institute of Human Nutrition (DifE). more

Contact us:

Munich:
T +49 89 318814-0
info(at)ascenion.de

Berlin:
T +49 30 9406 230 -1/-4
berlin(at)ascenion.de

Braunschweig:
T +49 531 6181 2090
braunschweig(at)ascenion.de

Hamburg:
T +49 40 22611 278
habeck(at)ascenion.de

Hanover:
T +49 511 5328 921
cordes(at)ascenion.de

Neuherberg:
T +49 89 3187 2850
scheek(at)ascenion.de

Ascenion GmbH, www.ascenion.de