eXceed Event: Bruker European Pharma Days 2023

Fantastic days!

It was a fantastic and successful two days of the event (April 25th and April 26th, 2023) with more than 130 participants and excellent and innovative lectures from well-known companies and universities from all over Europe. Leading and internationally active representatives of pharmaceutical companies and research institutes came together. The European Pharma Days are developing into a large, valuable platform for the pharmaceutical industry and science to exchange information on current and practice-relevant research topics. The Bruker European Pharma Days took place in Mannheim for the 4th time - this time not as usual at the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, but in the Mafinex Mannheim (technology center for startups). In addition to Bruker Daltonics, the co-organizers of the event are the industry consortium M2Aind (network between the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences and numerous companies in the healthcare industry for the development of practical solutions for industry) and CeMOS (Center for Mass Spectrometry and Optical Spectroscopy).

On the first day of the event, everything revolved around drug targeting approaches. Drug targeting is the targeted and selective accumulation or release of a drug at one or more desired sites. We welcomed TU Vienna, Novartis, Charité Berlin, Maastricht University, CeMOS Mannheim, NEOsphere Biotechnologies, TissueVision, Navignostics. On the second day of the event, the topic included Biomarker Discovery and Characterization. Biomarkers are defined characteristics that are measured as indicators in biological processes. They have various possible uses, such as disease detection, diagnosis or predicting the benefit of a therapy. In research, biomarkers are used, among other things, for the research and development of even more effective therapeutics. The University Medical Center Mainz, GSK, University Medical Center Mainz, Merck Group, CeMOS, Oxford University and Biognosys presented us with the latest findings. The program also included a tour of the Bruker Rhein-Neckar Center for MS Fingerprinting and Imaging at the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences - Institute for Instrumental Analysis and Bioanalysis, which has been in existence since 2016. The research focus is in the areas of pharmaceuticals, biotech, medtech and diagnostics. Further information is available here: www.ia.hs-mannheim.de.

This year there was a large exhibition with advertising stands from the pharmaceutical industry. There was lively interest and an active exchange around the stands. The participants of the events were very interested in the device demonstrations and the innovations from the pharmaceutical industry. After the extremely positive feedback on the two days of the event, we are looking forward to the next Bruker European Pharma Days in 2024. The date of the event will be announced in good time. Further information is available at www.m2aind-hs.mannheim.de

                       

Successful scientific M2Aind Symposium with lectures from the healthcare industry

For the fourth time, the industry consortium M2Aind organized the M2Aind Symposium on March 15th, 2023 with a focus on current research on the topic: Digital change in the field of process analysis measurement technology. The symposium is a user-oriented event that focuses on novelties and innovative development approaches. Current and innovative developments from M²Aind and their industrial partnership for innovations in cooperation with the partner companies were presented.

On one day, 30 representatives from business and science took part in the meeting of this kind and were obviously also used for intensive exchange and networking. New contacts and project ideas emerge and allow synergies and points of contact to grow. The program offered the audience a variety of innovative contributions from the M²Aind partnership and a gain of speakers from well-known companies such as Nevoox Europe, ProxiVision, Kybeidos, Bayer and CeMOS (Center for Mass Spectrometry and Optical Spectroscopy).

Many thanks to all the speakers who gave outstanding lectures on the subject and made the journey to the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences. Here are a few excerpts:

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Rolf-Jürgen Ahlers, ProxiVision GmbH - "Smart sensors in measurement and testing technology to optimize processes - fast, sensitive, digital". ProxiVision GmbH is your supplier for innovations in optoelectronics for OEM customers and end users. ProxiVision has special expertise in the field of UV solar blind detectors and is a manufacturer, supplier and service provider for high-quality Electro-optical components and detector systems, in particular detectors for UV, visible light, X-rays, neutrons and charged particles. Low light and nanosecond controlled intensified cameras image intensifiers.

Stephan Frenzel, Kybeidos GmbH - "NGSI-LD-based infrastructures at the interface between urban and industrial data spaces". When people and things are intelligently networked, they integrate themselves into cross-company processes based on the concept of data rooms. This creates numerous new opportunities for companies to add value. Whether sensor data in the automotive industry, data on sales transactions in online trading or risk assessment in the financial environment - data is generated everywhere. But how can information be gained from this and new analyzes and services built on it? How can data be collected, combined and evaluated in order to create targeted results or added value?

Dr. Martin Gerlach, Bayer AG - "Industrial Aspects of Process Analysis Technology". More than 70 different analytical methods are used in process analysis technology in the process industry. A large number of legal regulations and guidelines must be observed for their planning and operation, depending on the area of ​​application. Modern process analysis technology is developing more and more from "extractive" to "inline" and is therefore increasingly applicable for automated process control. More and more innovative laboratory procedures are becoming process-capable. The combined use of expertise from chemical production, process control and process analysis technology leads to high-quality process control concepts. Concepts of automated process control that use process analysis technology have a high return on investment.

After the extremely positive feedback on the event, we are looking forward to the next M²Aind Symposium (date to be announced). Further information on the innovation partnership M2Aind and the research projects can be found at: www.m2aind.hs-mannheim.de/projects.html

Prime Minister and new Science Minister visit Mannheim University of Applied Sciences

2023 has started for the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences with visitors from Stuttgart: During a joint visit, the Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg Winfried Kretschmann and the Minister of Science Petra Olschowski found out about current research activities at the university. The program included the joint project of the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences and the University of Mannheim TransforMA, which started on January 1, 2023 and was funded with 12 million euros. The Rectorate led a tour of the laboratories and workshops and explained how technology and knowledge transfer into society and the region can be successful using specific research projects. For the minister, this was also her inaugural visit to Mannheim University.

At three stations, the guests gained insights into a wide range of research and teaching projects in the fields of biotechnology, computer science, industrial engineering and entrepreneurship. This is how Prof. Dr. Carsten Hopf and two researchers present their cancer cell research at the Center for Biopharmaceutical and Molecular Diagnostic Mass Spectrometry, from the Consortium InnovationPartnership M2Aind - Multimodal Analysis and Intelligent Sensors for the Health Industry (MALDI MS cell assays, 3D-MSI of 3D-cell cultures, special lipids for targeting of mRNAs), from the #dfg SFB UNITE and from the research campus M²OLIE​ (patented device for MS imaging of needle biopsies) with the University of Heidelberg and the German Cancer Research Center DKFZ. The transfer of results from applied research is being promoted enormously by the new project TransforMA - Transfer in Economy and Society.

Prof. Dr. Kirstin Kohler and students reported on their practical project to support staff and residents of a retirement home in the inno.space - Design Factory Mannheim. Afterwards Prof. Dr. Julian Reichwald and Prof. Dr. Matthias Rädle of the CeMOS - Center for Mass Spectrometry and Optical Spectroscopy the Prime Minister and the Minister using 3D glasses to get their own picture of a digital twin - the digital image of a real object - in the Competence Center Virtual Engineering Rhein-Neckar (KVE).

The Minister of Science said: "The Mannheim University of Applied Sciences has shown in an impressive way that it is a major innovator in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region. Networking is the key. Together with its partners in science, business and civil society, the university makes a decisive contribution to finding solutions to the big questions facing our society - and to bringing them quickly into practice, into companies and to people. Whether it’s cancer research, digital transformation or climate change: the TransforMA project, carried out jointly with the University of Mannheim, has the potential to once again significantly strengthen the university’s position as a regional competence center for actively shaping transformation processes.”

 

Pictures: Alexander Münch

Text: Laura Margara

 

More information can be found here. 

Successful scientific M2Aind Symposium with lectures from the healthcare industry

For the third time, the innovation partnership organized the M2Aind Symposium from July 6th to July 7th, 2022 with a focus on current research on the following topics: Innovative compound profiling technologies and assays (MassSpec assays and 4D microscopy of 3D cultures) and process chemistry and analytics at the university Manheim. The symposium is a user-oriented event that focuses on novelties and innovative development approaches. Current and innovative developments from M²Aind and their industrial partnership for innovations in cooperation with the partner companies were primarily presented.

Over two days, more than 100 representatives from business and science took part in this type of meeting and were obviously also used for intensive exchange and networking. New contacts and project ideas emerge and allow synergies and points of contact to grow. The program offered the audience a variety of innovative contributions from the M²Aind partnership and a gain of speakers from well-known companies such as Bruker Daltonics, EU-OPENSCREEN, Merck Healthcare, Immundiagnostik, Leica Mikrosysteme, Novartis and BASF. International companies and universities are now also represented: we are very pleased that Pivot Park Screening Center with Dr. Saman Honarnejad from the Netherlands and the University of Lorraine from France with Mr. Jean-Marc Commenge have made the long journey to Mannheim to present their current scientific lectures to us.

The evening event offered a platform for exchange and networking. First we went to Waghäusel for a factory tour of the Pfaudler company. GMM Pfaudler is a global leader in corrosion-resistant technologies, systems and services for the chemical, pharmaceutical, food and energy industries. The inspection was about the manufacture of a glass-lined stirred tank from the semi-finished product to delivery. The evening ended with a cozy get-together in the WELDE Brauhaus restaurant in Schwetzingen.

Many thanks to all participants for the keen interest and the numerous appearances and also a big thank you to all the presenting companies, some of whom had to travel a long way and who greatly enriched the M2Aind Symposium with their content.

Participants' opinion on the M²Aind Symposium 2022

"Thank you for yesterday's event. Very good organization and a nice program.” Sascha Rohn, TU Berlin

After the extremely positive feedback on the event, we are looking forward to the next M²Aind Symposium, which will take place in March 2023. Further information on the innovation partnership M2Aind and the research projects can be found at: https://www.m2aind.hs-mannheim.de/en/projects/translate-to-english-oeffentlich-finanzierte-m2aind-projekte.html

Bruker European Pharma Days at the University of Mannheim

A complete success!

The innovation partnership M2Aind (multimodal analytics for the healthcare, pharmaceutical and chemical industries), coordinated by the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, is a co-organizer of the Bruker European Pharma Days 2022, which will be attended on April 27th and 28th, 2022 by representatives of leading international pharmaceutical companies at the university came together. The two-day event focused on advanced digital mass spectrometry (MS) technologies, including Trapped Ion Mobility and MS Imaging, and how these emerging technologies are transforming drug discovery. The event was organized in cooperation with Bruker, one of the leading device manufacturers in the field of MS technology, and the research and transfer center CeMOS - Center for Mass Spectrometry and Optical Spectroscopy. Mass spectrometric methods are used in many different ways in industry for the analysis of proteins, fats, metabolites or sugars. The technology therefore supports the development of new drugs, for example to study the interactions of tumor agents with cells. The event focused on various current applications in the field of characterizing proteins that can be used therapeutically, so-called biologics, and the further development of MS imaging technology. The spectrum ranged from new possibilities in high-throughput analysis of molecular data to research on tumor agents and Alzheimer's disease to the use of MS imaging in research with 3D cell cultures. Possibilities of using MS imaging in clinical diagnostics refer to the transfer of research results or the application in practice.

The CeMOS research center and the Rhein-Neckar Center for Biopharmaceutical and Molecular Diagnostic Mass Spectrometry located there have already maintained a long-standing collaboration with Bruker, which benefits research and teaching at the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences. With its comprehensive infrastructure, the Rhein-Neckar-Zentrum is one of the largest centers for applied mass spectrometry in Germany. The CeMOS MS center focuses on MS imaging in biochemical metabolic processes, toxicology and pathology, MS-based assays for drug discovery and "mode of action" studies, characterization of biopharmaceuticals, lipid/metabolite biomarkers, multivariate data processing and AI-supported software concepts. In these fields, CeMOS works with many corporate partners, with the DKFZ, the University of Heidelberg and the KIT.

The success story of the "M2Aind Talk" network rounds in the Rhine-Main-Neckar region will enter a new round in 2022

On February 16, 2022 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., the new year started with the 9th talk on the topic "Optical Technologies for Intelligent Systems".

It was a successful online talk with a focus on optical technologies and intelligent systems, which Mrs. Annabell Heintz, CeMOS research center, summed up in a very exciting way with her talk "Development of a multimodal imaging system for medical tissue analysis". In the CeMOS research center, synergies between mass spectrometry and optical device development (measuring devices as well as image and signal analysis) are generated in order to create new starting points for application-oriented projects with cooperation partners from industry and academia. Mass spectrometry and optical measurement technology are now indispensable tools in industrial research, development and production as well as in academic application-oriented basic research.

Another innovative talk was by Mr. Stephan Frenzel, Kybeidos GmbH - "Machines have to learn to speak". When people and things are intelligently networked, they integrate themselves into cross-company processes based on the concept of data rooms. This creates numerous new opportunities for companies to add value. Whether sensor data in the automotive industry, data on sales transactions in online trading or risk assessment in the financial environment - data is generated everywhere. But how can information be gained from this and new analyzes and services built on it? How can data be collected, combined and evaluated in order to create targeted results or added value?

Thomas Walch, Managing Director of Nevoox Europe, spoke about "Brain and Muscles - from room air monitors to smart building and house control". Under the motto "Protecting your world", Nevoox develops, produces and sells high-quality and innovative disinfection solutions, filter devices and air quality meters for use in the medical, public and private sectors. The much sought-after highlight of the current product range is the room air monitor ProxiCube®, which was developed within the innovation partnership M2Aind.

After the very successful presentations, a subsequent 20-minute discussion round took place to clarify questions. So an exciting evening with many topics came to an end, where we learned a lot of new and innovative things and look forward to the next M2Aind Talk, then hopefully again live and in color on site at the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, about which we will inform you again here will.

ProxiCube® - Cube brings knowledge

YOUR INDOOR AIR MONITOR - MEASURES. NOTIFIES. DOCUMENTS.|

The Mannheim University of Applied Sciences and the Mannheim University Medical Center, together with the Ilvesheim fire brigade, examined the effect of COVID-19 infection protection measures in a fire engine on an emergency drive. Important insights could be gained. For a whole day, the effect of various protective measures on the spread of liquid aerosols was scientifically investigated as part of controlled measurement drives in a fire engine. The initiator of the study was Dr. Elmar Bourdon, associated scientist at the joint institute for medical technology at the University of Heidelberg and the University of Mannheim and at the same time commander of the Ilvesheim fire protection officers on an honorary basis. The study has now been published internationally. You can find the results here:

Effectiveness of Safety Interventions in Fire Engines to Reduce Potential Airborne Transmission of SARS-CoV-2

ProxiCube studies

More information about ProxiCube is available here: https://proxi-cube.com/en/

 

Engineers are ...

The engineering degree - interesting, creative and exciting or dry, boring and dusty? What is the image of engineers among young people? How do you imagine your studies and your job?

This question is particularly interesting for the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, especially from the perspective of the future direction of public relations work. For this reason, we have developed a survey in cooperation with an advertising agency, which is intended to motivate young people in particular to express their opinion on the engineering profession and at the same time to bring the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences into conversation with the associated unconventional teaser video.

You can find the survey under the following link:  https://umfragen.hs-mannheim.de/limesurvey/index.php/264766?lang=de

Mannheim University of Applied Sciences Study Information Day on November 17th, 2021:  https://www.hs-mannheim.de/studieninteressierte/die-hsma-kennenlernen/studientag.html

M2Aind final volume 2017-2021

It is not without reason that M2Aind is a strong and innovative alliance of many industrial partners, excellent employees and competent project managers. This can be seen in the many successful projects in recent years in cooperation with many well-known companies. In the first four years, complex research in the field of low molecular weight active ingredients, molecular human organoid and tissue analysis and real-time sensors and real-time analysis was analyzed, researched and optimized. We are very proud to present you the M2Aind final report 2017-2021Click here to download

In the next few years, too, funding from the BMBF and industry will continue to promote innovative research and industry transfer in Mannheim. M2Aind will further expand digital technology for chemical, organic and food production and further develop a multimodal platform for drug discovery research. Multimodal data integration, automation processes and machine / deep learning should then move even more into focus.

You can find our M2Aind research projects on our website under Research. Get the latest information on LinkedIn and visit us on YouTube and learn more about M2Aind research.

Editor’s Pick 2021

We are very pleased that one of our articles was picked by the editor in the M2OGA project as one of the most interesting papers in the journal.

The publication “A Novel Optical Tissue Clearing Protocol for Mouse Skeletal Muscle to Visualize Endplates in Their Tissue Context”by Marion Patrick Ivey Williams, Matteo Rigon, Tatjana Straka, Sarah Janice Hörner, Manfred Thiel, Norbert Gretz, Mathias Hafner, Markus Reischl and Rüdiger Rudolf was selected by the Frontiers Editorial Office as Cellular Neuropathology Editor's Pick 2021. With this, the editorial team distinguishes "articles of outstanding scientific quality that are representative of the work in a particular area".

New core projects from 2021

In the next few years, too, generous financial support from the BMBF and industry will continue to promote innovative research and industry transfer in Mannheim. M2Aind will further expand digital technology for chemical, organic and food production and further develop a multimodal platform for drug discovery research. Multimodal data integration, automation processes and machine / deep learning should then move even more into focus.

New core projects

  1. M2Aind-Food: Digital technologies for cost-efficient and climate-neutral food production
  2. M2Aind-Drugs4Future: Digital solutions for the successful development of safe and effective active ingredients
  3. M2Aind-ChemProcess: Digital technologies for cost-efficient and climate-neutral chemical and pharmaceutical production
  4. M2Aind-BioProcess Monitoring: Digital technologies for cost-efficient and climate-neutral biotech production

You can find many more M2Aind research projects on our website under Research.

We look forward to continuing our intensive collaboration with partners from business, research, associations and networks in the years to come. To an exciting time, which will lead us to new future-oriented, scientifically founded results with a high application relevance.

ProxiCube - the device helps schools comply with their ventilation concepts

Campus report with news from the university in Mannheim. Aerosols from the air we breathe are considered to be the greatest risk factor for infection with the SARS-CoV2 coronavirus. Especially in poorly ventilated indoor spaces - for example in schools and similar facilities - there is a risk that the tiny droplets from the air we breathe will collect and spread the virus, which is why strict ventilation concepts now apply in many public places. However, the aerosol concentration has not yet been monitored. Researchers at the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences have now faced this and have found a solution for which a patent has now been applied: an aerosol detector.

 

Air quality and health always in view - Mannheim University of Applied Sciences develops aerosol detectors

Aerosols from the air we breathe are considered to be the greatest risk factor for infection with flu viruses and, among other things, the SARS-CoV2 coronavirus. The competence center CeMOS (Center for Mass Spectrometry and Optical Spectroscopy) of the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences has developed a special measuring technique and has applied for a patent to guarantee an effective and precise measurement of the aerosols in the room air. In poorly ventilated interiors, especially in the winter period, there is a risk that tiny droplets from the air you breathe will collect and that viruses will spread faster, which is why strict ventilation regulations now apply in many public places, especially in schools and companies. In addition to viruses, other particles such as pollen, allergens and pollutants make life difficult for people in many places.

About two years ago, CeMOS developed a handy system - hardly bigger than a magic cube - for measuring aerosols indoors. It uses a sensor that was originally intended for the determination of fine dust concentrations and was developed as part of the FH impulse funding M2Aind.

Magic cube for air purity

The M2Aind cooperation partner, the company ProxiVision GmbH in Bensheim, has recently started producing the first prototypes under the brand name ProxiCube, the size and shape of which correspond to a Rubik's cube. The schools in Mannheim have shown great interest and the economic development of the city of Mannheim is promoting the development and application as part of the innovation network Smart Production / Industry 4.0. If everything goes according to plan, the first classrooms can be equipped with ProxiCubes as early as the beginning of 2021. The Werner von Siemens School on the Neckarpromenade is the first school that will have some cubes in use as early as January.

Technology, design and sales made in Mannheim

Last weekend, the Mannheim-based technology startup Nevoox Europe GmbH, which specializes in innovative hygiene solutions, has been able to win a strong sales partner. Nevoox recently started developing UV-C light-based disinfection solutions for indoor air and surfaces, among other things, and will be exclusively responsible for selling ProxiCubes throughout Germany and internationally.

The magic cube for air purity is launched on the market under the name “Nevoox ProxiCube²”. It will be available in different versions from mid-January. There will even be a special “Mannheimer Würfel” edition, which of course reflects the Mannheimer squares theme and the unique ensemble of colors in the city of Mannheim. Additional different model variants are planned - from the basic model to an exclusive high-end version with a contactless Qi charging function and high-quality housing materials.

The “Mannheim Cube” can continuously measure numerous important values ​​on air quality and transmit them to users such as school principals, building managers, operations managers or even in private households on a dashboard or applications such as mobile phone apps. "Hotels, bus companies, restaurants and many other industries can also use this technology for the safety and wellbeing of employees and guests," says Thomas Walch, Managing Director of Nevoox. “Up to now, a large number of sensors were necessary to determine so much data from the room air. The fist-sized ProxiCube takes care of all of this and also draws in the air independently through a small fan in order to analyze it. "

Depending on customer requirements, the Nevoox ProxiCube² can also be supplied as an OEM product with various measurement configurations. The Nevoox ProxiCube² works with all common radio systems and can be easily integrated into cloud systems, making it ideal as a trigger for e.g. an IoT-controlled air filter. This means that there are no application limits for the system, be it as an isolated solution for schools, companies, or as a control and information unit for building management solutions.

Anyone who would like to find out more about the development made in Mannheim can find initial information on the Nevoox Europe GmbH website www.nevoox-europe.com

 

Nevoox-Europe

The startup based in Mannheim, founded in July 2020, sells and produces high-quality and innovative products and solutions for disinfection in the medical, public, private and commercial sectors. In addition to standardized sterilization / disinfection in hospitals and similar environments, surface disinfection has become very important in all areas of daily life, not least due to the current COVID-19 situation. Nevoox therefore offers suitable hygiene solutions and disinfection concepts for different scenarios: from offices to cosmetic studios, sports facilities, day-care centers and shops. Nevoox Europe works with well-known manufacturers such as Planlicht and DellaSolare as well as institutions from the public sector and hospital associations and also with a strong network in the office world and consumer electronics Nevoox Europe also has its own research and sourcing office in Asia. In addition, Nevoox Europe GmbH operates its own mask production in the metropolitan region of Manila, which produces locally according to German standards and with European management. The production site and the products meet the quality criteria of TÜV Rheinland. The young company is already represented in over ten countries with affiliated partner companies. With the support of a worldwide cooperation network, Nevoox Europe now supplies customers in a wide variety of industries.

ProxiVision

ProxiVision GmbH is a medium-sized company that manufactures electro-optical detectors for various applications in the civil and military sectors. The core competence lies in the development and production of image intensifiers, which are particularly sensitive in the ultraviolet and visible spectral range, as well as the integration of these components in detector units and cameras or camera systems. In addition, the company has extensive specialist knowledge from a long history of development and production. ProxiVision secures its know-how through its own design and a high production depth. The company has a particular interest in developing opto-electronic product innovations in close cooperation with customers and partners and bringing them to market maturity. Our future activities will increasingly include applications and requirements in the life science and analytical market.

 

City of Mannheim / Network Smart Production / CeMoS of the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences

The city of Mannheim promotes the pioneering and developer spirit of its universities and companies through an active innovation policy. The Mannheim Economic Development Agency initiated the Smart Production network as a central innovation cluster for smart technologies in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region. The development of the “MannheimCube” is a key project on the way to becoming a Smart City. The project opens up the possibility of meeting current challenges from Covid-19 to climate protection worldwide and was created in cooperation with the CeMOS research center of the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences with many other of the around 50 network partners. Business development and schools are pilot customers of the “Mannheim Cube”.

Mannheim University of Applied Sciences develops aerosol detectors - the device helps schools comply with their ventilation concepts

The CeMOS competence center (Center for Mass Spectrometry and Optical Spectroscopy) at the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences is developing a practical system for measuring aerosols indoors. It uses a sensor that was originally intended to determine fine dust concentrations and was developed as part of the FH impulse financing M2Aind. The cooperation partner M2Aind, the company ProxiVision GmbH in Bensheim, is currently producing the first prototypes under the working title ProxiCube and is already in negotiations with the corresponding sales partners. The Mannheim schools have shown great interest and the economic development of the city of Mannheim promotes the development and application within the framework of the innovation network Smart Production / Industry 4.0; If all goes well, the first classrooms can be equipped with ProxiCubes as early as the beginning of 2021. The Werner von Siemens School on the Neck Promenade is the first school that has already ordered five dice from Proxivision.

Aerosols from the air we breathe are believed to be the greatest risk factor for infection with the SARS-CoV2 coronavirus. Especially in poorly ventilated indoor spaces, especially in winter, there is a risk that the tiny droplets from the air you breathe could build up and spread the virus. That is why strict ventilation concepts are in place today in many public places and especially in schools. But there is always a certain amount of uncertainty: Has the room really been properly ventilated? When does the aerosol concentration become critical and can't you dare to keep the window closed for a while? CeMOS researcher Dr. Thomas Schäfer converted a battery-operated, portable device for measuring fine dust that he had developed into an aerosol detector a few years ago. He explains why this is so easy: “The optical sensor makes no distinction between dust particles and tiny drops of liquid. Every particle with a size between 300 nanometers and 10 micrometers that passes the light barrier inside counts. "

Dr Thomas Schäfer and his team therefore use the same sensors for the aerosol detector as for particulate matter measurement, but in a double pack: One sensor simply measures the air drawn in, the second heats the air drawn in so that liquids evaporate. From the difference between the two measurements, the device then calculates the amount of water droplets in the air, so that a reliable distinction can be made between solid and liquid particles. The measured data are output to the user so that the aerosol concentration can be observed and documented over longer periods of time. In addition, the development team is planning a dashboard on which several rooms can be monitored via a traffic light system and which issues a warning as soon as too many aerosols accumulate in a room. ProxiCube has since been applied for a patent.

Successful M2Aind Symposium

Research highlights of the M2Aind innovation partnership and an outlook on the 2nd phase

On November 24th, 2020 the 2nd M2Aind Symposium took place this year with great success and great interest - due to the corona pandemic in virtual form. At the end of the first M2Aind phase (2017-2021), M2Aind employees and project managers presented their most important research results from the following areas:

  1. Future generation multispectral imaging technology
  2. MS-based cell assay technology, MALDI MS and multimodal imaging
  3. 3D cell cultures for the pharmaceutical industry
  4. Innovative process technology and process analytics for the chemical production of active ingredients

The M2Aind innovation partnership has developed a strong profile and has grown in recent years. Our scientific staff contribute a western part through excellent work, innovations, highlights and successes. The extremely good cooperation between the industrial partners is valued and will be continued over the next few years. The M2Aind innovation partnership has achieved a lot together.

M2Aind is on the right track to be able to offer the healthcare industry digital technologies for solutions for the safe and effective control of common diseases. The success of M2Aind in numbers: We have initiated more than 50 follow-up projects with cooperation partners in industry and sponsored by the public sector. Six registered property rights speak for the innovation potential. Numerous technologies developed in M2Aind have been transferred to industry. Six completed cooperative doctorates related to the M2Aind innovation profile are representative of the great commitment of our young scientists. And 10 peer review publications alone with an impact factor> 4 (a total of> 20 peer review publications) are an expression of the scientific quality and relevance of our research.

Added value of the projects and outlook on M2Aind 2.0

Last but not least, the project manager Prof. Dr. Matthias Rädle (M2edTech), Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Rudolf (M2OGA) and Prof. Dr. Thorsten Röder (SM2all) and Prof. Dr. Carsten Hopf, M2Aind partnership spokesman on the added value of the individual projects for the industrial partnership and looked at M2Aind 2.0 next year. The second funding phase will focus on continuing and developing research work. In addition to chemical production, M2Aind will also be active in the fields of organic and food production and will take up the health concept of "nutrition". Digitization such as multimodal data integration, automation processes and machine / deep learning should then move even more into focus.

We are very pleased that the continued funding from the BMBF and industry will make it possible to continue our intensive cooperation with around 40 partners from business, research, associations and networks in the years to come.

Special thanks go to our M2Aind partners from industry, who support our joint research efforts with a contribution of millions. We look forward to further cooperation and an exciting time that will lead us to new, future-oriented, scientifically sound results with a high level of application relevance.

Symposium on research highlights of the M2Aind innovation partnership

Bernd Vogelsang press and public relations
Hochschule Mannheim - University of Applied Sciences

In a large symposium, researchers from "M2Aind - Digital.Health.Technologies", an innovation partnership between the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences and the healthcare industry, will present their special research and development results on November 24, 2020. M2Aind had received EUR 4.5 million from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and EUR 1.3 million in cash from industry over the past four years.

The innovation partnership M2Aind was selected for funding by the BMBF in 2016 as one of the ten best concepts in the nationwide competition “Strong universities of applied sciences - impetus for the region”. The contributions to the symposium point to the unique technological features that M2Aind has developed over the past four years.

M2Aind - a central point of contact for technology cooperation with the healthcare industry

The task of specifically developing safe and effective active ingredients for common diseases such as diabetes or cancer, but also for acute infections such as Covid-19 and increasingly producing them again inexpensively and climate-neutrally in Germany and the EU is extremely complex. Important keys for future production lie in digital process analysis technology and increasingly data-driven, intelligent synthesis processes in microreactors. The key also lies in the intelligent use of biomolecular information. It is important to collect, process and evaluate vast amounts of data in order to recognize promising drug candidates more quickly in the future and to bring them to their target in a targeted manner. The M2Aind research partnership faces these challenges at the interface between pharmaceutical technology, biotechnology and information technology. It strengthens the Rhine-Main-Neckar region as a central point of contact for technology cooperation with the healthcare industry.

The area between the Rhine, Main and Neckar is home to numerous well-known companies from the healthcare industry. International top players such as Merck, Roche, BASF, BioNTech and Sanofi have locations here, as do highly specialized SMEs (small and medium-sized companies). In addition, there are innovative providers from the fields of biomedicine, analytics and information technology as well as high-class research clusters. In this respect, the region offers ideal conditions for a practice-oriented research alliance, the aim of which is to harness the enormous potential of biomolecular information and energy-efficient production technology primarily for the health industry. Several dozen small and large companies from the health industry, analytics and information technology work together in M2Aind to use the potential of biomolecular data for specific application contexts.

Successful projects with a wide range of applications

The pharmaceutical industry, for example, benefits from knowledge of the type, number and composition of biomolecules in tissue. In industrial research, for example, biomolecular data can be used to determine whether development candidates for future cancer drugs will reach the tumor and whether it will respond to treatment. This accelerates the development of new drugs. Another promising field of application is the environmentally friendly manufacture of pharmaceuticals. The way to get there is through the permanent collection and automated evaluation of molecular information during the manufacturing process. In this way, deviations can be determined in real time and appropriate reactions can be initiated quickly. In another field of application, the food industry, sugar substitutes, for example, can be developed on the basis of digitized biomolecular information - and used for a healthier diet.

One of the M2Aind projects is about using digitized molecular data to optimize the entire pharmaceutical production chain, from development to drug testing. In another project, the partners are developing digitized methods for analyzing tissue as well as producing tissue preparations and complex cell cultures for practical research. A third project is devoted to device development. The aim is to develop highly sensitive measuring devices and methods for the reliable acquisition of biomolecular data. The projects mentioned are milestones in application-oriented research for the benefit of patients and consumers - in the region and far beyond.

However, there is a central prerequisite for the almost unmanageable amount of biomolecular information to actually be able to be used meaningfully: The flood of information must first be tamed, channeled and evaluated in a targeted manner. This is where artificial intelligence comes into play for the evaluation of very large amounts of data: Only then is it often possible to record, process and link the wealth of information so that meaningful conclusions can be drawn from it. M2Aind is also working on that.

CeMOS employee Melissa Unger receives an award for her doctoral thesis

The Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS) honored Melissa Unger's work on cell-based screening based on mass spectrometry with the "Tony B. Academic Travel Award". A trip to the SLAS2020 conference in Vienna and the presentation of the research would have been made possible. The event did not take place due to the pandemic.

Instead, Melissa Unger will showcase her research at digital SLAS2021 in January, which would normally have been held in San Diego. The doctoral thesis, which was carried out as a partner project with Cellzome - a GSK company, was recently published in the renowned journal "Analytical Chemistry" of the American Chemical Society.

Melissa Unger works at the cross-faculty research center CeMOS (Center of Mass Spectrometry and Optical Spectroscopy) at the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, which is headed by Prof. Dr. Carsten Hopf and Prof. Dr. Matthias Rädle is headed. The doctorate was carried out as a cooperative doctorate with Cellzome and the medical faculty Mannheim of the University of Heidelberg as part of the BMBF and industry-funded innovation partnership M2Aind.

In her work in close collaboration with company partners Bruker Daltonics and Analytik Jena, Melissa Unger has succeeded for the first time in developing an approach that examines the absorption of active substances in cells via a transport protein. She developed an automated method using the devices of the company partner Analytik Jena, which was applied to the screen of 300 substances. This approach provides clues about possible drug interactions that are of great importance to an aging society.

Your award underlines on the one hand the growing importance of doctorates at the University of Mannheim, on the other hand the technology leadership of CeMOS in the field of mass spectrometry. In CeMOS, more than 25 cooperative doctoral procedures are currently being carried out and supervised in cooperation with the universities of Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, Braunschweig, Leuven / Belgium and Berlin.

Ministry of Education and Research is funding M2Aind for a further four years

Mannheim University of Applied Sciences receives millions in funding from the federal government

Innovation partnership M2Aind

Safe and effective active ingredients through digital analysis and resource-saving production.

The M2Aind innovation partnership has been running at Mannheim University of Applied Sciences since 2017. M2Aind is an innovation-driven, research-intensive alliance that is deeply rooted in the region. Many very successful research activities with regional and national well-known companies in biomedicine and information technology have emerged during this time. In the first funding phase, complex research in the field of low molecular weight active ingredients, molecular human organoid and tissue analysis and real-time sensors and real-time analysis was analyzed, researched and optimized.

The results achieved here have now been positively evaluated by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research BMBF. The Mannheim University of Applied Sciences is pleased about the continuation of the M2Aind innovation partnership. The second phase will begin next year, which will also usually last four years. The BMBF is making a total of 4.5 million euros available for this phase from 2021 to 2024. In addition, companies make a financial contribution of around 1.5 million euros in cash to the research work.

With the program “Strong Universities of Applied Sciences - Impulse for the Region (FH impulse)”, the BMBF specifically supports universities of applied sciences with a strong focus on research. The aim is to intensify research cooperation between universities and regional medium-sized companies and to put them on a long-term basis. From more than 80 applications, only ten universities of applied sciences nationwide, including the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences with the M2Aind concept, were selected for an initial four-year funding period up to 2020.

At the beginning of the year, the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences had to prepare a comprehensive report on previous results and a new concept for the second funding period until 2024. A task that Professors Mathias Hafner, Carsten Hopf, Matthias Rädle, Thorsten Röder, Rüdiger Rudolf and Philipp Weller successfully mastered with the support of the Research Management Center (RMC) and M2Aind Management as well as the research groups. As part of the complex and multi-stage assessment process, the university has now been certified as doing a very good job, which was rewarded with the continuation of the project.

New future projects from 2021

The second funding phase will focus on continuing and developing research work. In addition to chemical production, M2Aind will also be active in the fields of organic and food production and will take up the health concept of "nutrition". The focus of digitization such as multimodal data integration, automation processes and machine / deep learning should be continued.

Future projects:

  1. M2Aind Drugs - Digital solutions for the successful development of safe and effective active ingredients
  2. M2Aind-ChemProcess - Digital technologies for cost-efficient and climate-neutral chemical and pharmaceutical production
  3. M2Aind-BioProcess - Digital technologies for cost-efficient and climate-neutral biotech production
  4. M2Aind-Food - Digital technologies for cost-efficient and climate-neutral food production

We are very pleased that the renewed funding from the BMBF enables us to continue our intensive cooperation with around 40 participating companies from business, research, associations and networks in the next few years.

News from M²Aind - the industrial partnership for innovations in the healthcare industry

Impressions of the M²Aind Symposium 2020

The M²Aind Symposium at the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, which took place for the second time this year, met with great interest. The symposium is a user-oriented event that focuses on innovations and innovative development approaches for laboratory automation. At first glance, current and innovative developments from M²Aind and their industrial partnership for innovations in cooperation with partner companies were presented. Over 100 representatives from business and science took part in the meeting of this type over two days. The program offered the audience a wide variety of innovative contributions from the M²Aind partnership and the benefit of speakers from well-known companies such as AbbVie, Analytik Jena, BASF, Boehringer Ingelheim, BRAIN, hte, InnoSyn, Leica Mikrosysteme, Merck, Novartis, Roche. The M²Aind young scientists also had their say in each of the two subject areas and presented their latest findings.

Day 1, 4.2.2020
Microreactors and continuous synthesis, online spectroscopy, process analysis.
The chemical production of active ingredients is in a constant competitive situation in Europe. In order to assert itself on the world market, it is necessary for the process industry to have excellent processes with technically innovative solutions. To this end, trend-setting approaches were presented at the symposium. Through the use of innovative microreactor technology and online spectroscopy, it has been possible to develop a set-up that optimizes a chemical process completely autonomously without the intervention of a chemist. All in all, automation, micro reaction technology and sophisticated new analysis methods such as ion mobility spectroscopy ran through all the lectures as a common thread. All of these innovative approaches were discussed intensively and lively with the industrial partners. The key note lecture by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Norbert Kockmann, Technical University of Dortmund with the topic "Smart Process Equipment in the Laboratory". There has been a long-term research cooperation between Professor Koopmann and the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, which has already resulted in numerous joint publications and doctorates. Representatives of the companies BASF, hte, InnoSyn, Novartis report on the use of microreactors and modern tools for process development in industry. In the late afternoon, the participants expected a brewery tour through the Eichbaum Brewery in Mannheim. Then the day ended with a joint dinner. Here you can get an insight into the program.

Day 2, 5.2.2020
Innovative Compound Profiling Technologies: Label-free MALDI-MS assays.         
Today, MALDI mass spectrometry is an indispensable tool in industrial research, development and production as well as in the academic application-oriented basis. The versatile applicability of the method results in a wealth of different points of contact, which are the basis for application-oriented projects with cooperation partners from industry and academia. Representatives from Boehringer Ingelheim, Roche, Analytik Jena and the project teams reported on the various aspects, challenges, advantages and expected future developments. A wide range of questions was addressed. Cellular assays based on MALDI MS, which have found application in the identification of inhibitors in fatty acid synthesis, and also serve as a basis for the determination of inhibitors of transport proteins, which also play a role in possible drug interactions. The use of the method in the drug discovery process was supported by the high throughput sequencing (HTS) usability of the method. Specific examples of this application were shown primarily by Analytik Jena, whose devices ensure the possibility of HTS, primarily through automation in the laboratory. The use of MALDI as a high throughput method in lead discovery at Roche was of particular interest to the participants. The participants particularly praised the cooperation between industrial partners and academic partners in the processing of various projects in the M2Aind alliance. Here you can get an insight into the program.

Innovative Compound Profiling Technologies: 3D microscopy in 3D cell cultures.
The main topic is of outstanding importance because the focus of M²Aind is, among other things, research on methods of multimodal tissue analysis as well as the production and application of tissue preparations and complex cell cultures for drug research and pathology of the future. The innovative approach of the project is to combine traditional methods with the new and rapidly growing possibilities of three-dimensional imaging, digital analytics and to process the data obtained in this way at a higher level of knowledge and use it for the intended research purposes. The aim of the project is to work with industrial partners to develop highly integrated applications for various complex problems in the pharmaceutical and medical technology industries. Representatives from AbbVie Germany, Merck, BRAIN, Leica Mikrosysteme as well as from the project teams reported on various aspects, challenges, advantages and expected future developments. A broad field of questions was addressed: the choice and differentiation of cell types to be used, 3D bioprinting, optical tissue clearing, 3D visualization under active ingredient perfusion, new methods of functional microscopy. The lectures were rounded off with concrete examples for application to substance testing. In this respect, the interlaced presentation of methodological challenges and solutions with current issues from the industry was a special feature of the event. Based on this, there were exciting discussions and interactions among the conference guests present. Here you can get an insight into the program.

Participants' voices for the M²Aind Symposium 2020

“I took part in both days of the symposium. The quality and originality of the presentations were just as convincing as the open-ended discussion culture. Congratulations to the organizers of this symposium."                  Peter Kilz, PSS Polymer Standards Service GmbH

„The presentations were very interesting. The value for me is in the applicability of the know-how. I will recommend the symposium to my colleagues in flow chemistry.“ Raf Reintjens, InnoSyn B.V.

After the extremely positive feedback on the event, we are looking forward to the next M²Aind Symposium in 2021. The date will be announced as soon as possible. Further information on the research projects can be found at:​​​​​​​ https://www.m2aind.hs-mannheim.de/projekte.html

M²Aind employee wins poster prize in Budapest

The 7th Conference on Frontiers in Organic Synthesis Technology took place in Budapest from October 16 to 18, 2019. M²Aind employee Clarissa Petrol, who works within M²Aind on the SM²all project “Low Molecular Weight Active Ingredients: Production, Analysis, Safety, Efficacy”, won the Best Poster Award with her poster Methylation with Chloromethane in a Microreactor. A total of 23 posters by young scientists were available to choose from. The Poster Committee only accepts posters that present current research and current issues that have led to promising preliminary results. At the evening gala dinner on a boat on the Danube, Ms. Petrol received her award.

 

7. M²Aind Talk - Edge intelligence and medical technology

We are happy to be part of the 1st Mannheim innovation festival "innomake"! The festival aims to initiate a new social and economic discourse on the importance of sustainable and future-oriented innovations.

From October 14th Companies, institutions, the cultural and start-up scenes come together in Mannheim until October 27th. More than 15 events: Whether input session, hackathon, workshop, conference or accompanying exhibitions - in addition to established events, there are also many new formats on the Program.

7. M²Aind Talk - Edge Intelligence and Medical Technology

10/22/19 - It is already the seventh M²Aind Talk, which this time took place as part of the innovation festival. It is a get-together of the health industry for the greater Rhine-Neckar-Main area.

The two speakers Dr. Marcus Götz (MRC Systems Heidelberg) and Professor Dr. Marcus Vetter (M²edTech, University of Mannheim) addressed the topic of Edge Intelligence and medical technology in their keynote speeches. After the presentations, an inspection of the ESM Institute (Institute for Embedded Systems, Control and Medical Technology) took place with Professor Vetter, in which the participants learned more about deep learning in medical technology.

After the very successful presentations, the subsequent networking with finger food and drinks took place. This time, too, the regional representatives of the life science industry met to exchange ideas and learn new things.

Further information on the research projects can be found here.

Festival in Mannheim: Cheers to the city of inventors

October 14th to 27th a festival „innomake!“

New accents and proven event formats
The “innomake!” Is made up of 15 events. And a look at the program reveals: Not everything has to be reinvented for the very complex and subject-specific festival. Many tried and tested formats such as the Urban Thinkers Campus (October 24th to 26th in Stadthaus N1), the Design Industry Expert Forum (October 23rd in the C-HUB) or the medically oriented "M2Aind Talk" (October 22nd at the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences) should be experience a new visibility thanks to the joint appearance. And the social idea should also be exemplified. During the “night shift” on October 16 in the Alten Volksbad, for example, designers and marketing strategists from Mannheim will make their skills available to non-profit organizations in a free eight-hour shift.

Most of the socially and environmentally oriented festival meetings are reserved for a specialist audience. Under the motto “Innovations made in Mannheim”, however, a three-part exhibition on Paradeplatz, at the main train station and at the Augustaanlage will appeal to almost every Mannheim visitor from October 7th. At “Women in Tech” on October 22nd in N7, the focus will be on the role of women in technical professional fields. At the “Climathon” (October 25th to 27th) there is also the opportunity to become a participant and possibly a suspect inventor if an ideas competition for climate protection is called in the Mafinex. More information is available here.

(Source: Die Rheinpfalz)

M²Aind Symposium 2019

24.6.-25.6.19

Innovation partnership M²Aind looks back on the successful M²Aind Symposium 2019 at the University of Mannheim on the subject of "Microreactors and continuous synthesis, online spectroscopy and process analysis".

Highlights of the 2-day program:

Day 1, 24.6.19

The workshop at the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences on the subject of "Process engineering principles of microreactors" under the direction of Professor Dr. Röder was booked with great interest. The topic was very well received. In the late afternoon, the participants expected a city tour through Mannheim "Into the world of well-known pioneers". Then the day ended with a joint dinner in the Palm's Pacific Lounge restaurant in Mannheim.

Day 2, 25.6.19

On the day of the M²Aind Symposium, the participants awaited exciting presentations and news from process development and process analysis. M²Aind employees of the HS Mannheim and companies from the pharmaceutical industry were given the opportunity to report on current developments. The mixture of current research results from the university and application reports from industry representatives was particularly interesting for the participants.

he topics covered the entire spectrum of modern chemical process development. The participants particularly praised the intensive use of online analytics and the high degree of automation and digitization of the research project in the M²Aind Alliance. Representatives from BASF, Novartis, Merck and ONE-A report on the use of microreactors and modern tools for process development in industry. Here you can get an insight into the M²Aind Symposium 2019 agenda.

Participants' voices:

"A very well organized event from which I took a variety of technical and scientific suggestions for my daily work at Merck."

Herr Philipp Lau, Merck KGaA

"Thanks again for the invitation, the whole thing was very interesting because all participants more or less had the same interests."

Dr. Julien Haber, Novartis Pharma AG

After the extremely positive feedback on the event, we are looking forward to the next M²Aind Symposium 2020. The date will be announced as soon as possible. Further information on the research projects can be found at: https://www.m2aind.hs-mannheim.de/en/projects/translate-to-english-oeffentlich-finanzierte-m2aind-projekte.html

MALDI Innovations in Pharma 2019

Bruker’s and M²Aind’s 2nd Mannheim Symposium “Mass Spectrometry and Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) Innovations in Pharma”

In cooperation with the partner company Bruker Daltonik GmbH, the innovation partnership M²Aind organized from 18.-19. March 2019 the second specialist congress "Bruker’s and M²Aind’s VIP Day 2019" at the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences. Over two days, around 120 representatives from industry and academia from the fields of pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, chemistry, medical technology and biotechnology used the opportunity to network and exchange information on the latest research findings.


The focus of the event was on the one hand new label-free technologies for pharmaceutical research and development: pharmaceutical applications from MALDI MS Imaging and MALDI PharmaPulse for screening with high throughput using MALDI mass spectrometry, surface plasmon resonance for the profiling of compounds and NMR spectroscopy for fragment-based screening. The diverse current areas of application, which were presented by the speakers in around 20 lectures, met with great interest from the audience.

The speakers came from research companies and scientific institutions such as:

Bayer (Germany), Boehringer Ingelheim (Germany), Bruker (Germany), ETH Zurich (Switzerland), Evosep (Denmark), CeMOS (Germany), Harvard Medical School (USA), GlaxoSmithKline (Great Britain), Merck (Germany), Newcastle University (Great Britain), Osaka University (Japan), Roche (Switzerland), Servier (France).

Professor Dr. Carsten Hopf, initiator of the event and head of the research center CeMOS - Center for Mass Spectrometry and Optical Spectroscopy in Mannheim, invited interested parties to a tour through the Rhein-Neckar Center for MS Imaging and MS Assays funded by the BMBF and DFG. Professor Hopf looks back with satisfaction on a successful congress with international specialist lectures: “There is still an international congress for MALDI mass spectrometry tailored in this way to the fields of interest of the pharmaceutical industry - label-free assay technologies on the one hand and mass spectrometric imaging for DMPK and toxicology on the other not given. The great response documents the need for these technologies, and I am glad that Bruker organized such an event with M²Aind.“

Vice-Rector for Research and Technology Transfer of the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, Professor Dr. Mathias Hafner, rates the event as a complete success for the M²Aind innovation partnership: “The great interest shown by industry in this event confirms that we have set the right priorities in research; We are internationally competitive here at the highest level.” You can find the detailed program here Day 1 / Day 2 (Unfortunately, the program is no longer online).

M²Aind partnership awarded three times in the "Biotechnology ideas competition"

Since 2016, the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences has been one of the ten universities of applied sciences awarded by the Federal Ministry of Research with special research excellence with the FH impulse innovation partnership M2Aind "Multimodal Analytics and Intelligent Sensor Systems for the Health Industry". The university was able to prevail in tough competition and received funding from Berlin of initially € 5 million and an additional € 1.3 million from industry.

Now three partners of the innovation partnership from the impulse project “SM²all - Low Molecular Active Ingredients” are among the winners of the nationwide idea competition Biotechnology - Learning from nature; they convinced the external panel of experts with their three submitted project proposals. With this ideas competition, the Ministry of Science and Art of Baden-Württemberg wants to promote research approaches that are characterized by original new solution strategies with a high scientific-technical success and development risk and cannot be assigned to pure basic research or research close to the market.

Each of the winners in the competition will initially receive funding of up to € 60,000 to carry out a nine-month feasibility study. The most promising ideas can then be supported in a second funding phase for three more years with five times the amount.

"We are very pleased about this triple award", says Prof. Dr. Thorsten Röder, SM²all project manager, who, together with Prof. Philipp Weller, had the opportunity to work out a feasibility study by the middle of this year. "This funding makes it clear once again how high the creative performance of our innovation partnership is," emphasizes Prof. Dr. Carsten Hopf, partnership spokesman for M²Aind and head of the CeMOS competence center at the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences. In the future, the CeMOS competence center will develop new evaluation techniques for microarrays in the two other funded projects together with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in order to advance advances in key technology in the areas of increasing efficiency, automating and reducing costs.

The aim of the impulse project SM²all is to modernize the entire process chain of drug production for low molecular weight active ingredients and biopharmaceuticals. The main concern is to use an innovative combination of automation technology and online analysis to produce active ingredients in a continuously secure process and to test their function in order to increase patient safety and reduce production costs.

M²Aind Retreat 2018

From October 15 The M²Aind Retreat took place for the first time until October 16, 2018, attended by industrial partners from the health sector and members of the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences.

The conference took place on the Ebernburg in the Bad Kreuznach district of Bad Münster am Stein. With the best weather, 52 participants took the opportunity to get a deeper insight into the M²Aind projects, to get to know the M²Aind team and the other project partners.

The first day started in the afternoon with a greeting from the M²Aind partnership spokesman, Professor Dr. Carsten Hopf, who warmly welcomed the participants to the first M2Aind retreat. An essential part of the agenda was the presentation of the impulse projects SM2all, M²OGA and M²edTech, which were carried out in detail by the project managers Professor Dr. Thorsten Röder (SM²all), Professor Dr. Rüdiger Rudolf (M²OGA) and Professor Dr. Matthias Rädle (M²edTech) were presented.

Company presentations took place in the second part of the day. The aim was to find out more about our industrial partners and their project work and to find points of contact for possible future collaborations. Thank you very much for the successful short pitches at Dr. Katharina Cuk, BioNTech AG, Dr. Jens Fuchser, Bruker Daltonik GmbH, Dr. Dennis Reibel, Freudenberg Technologie Innovation SE & Co KG, Dr. Anne Arnold, Immundiagnostik AG, Ms. Stefanie Szmais & Dr. Richard Schneider, Merck KGaA, Dr. Marcus Götz, MRC Systems GmbH, Professor Dr. Rolf-Jürgen Ahlers, ProxiVision GmbH, Dr. Vanya Todorova, Roche Diabetes Care GmbH, Dr. Norbert-Karl Egger, Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH, Dr. Friedrich Reinhard, GSK GmbH.

After the group special, a guided tour of the Ebernburg or a tour through the city of Bad Münster am Stein, the participants stopped in the Ebernburgschänke in the evening. In a poster session, our project staff presented their previous results in collaboration with their project partners. The focus of this evening was on the project work and the exchange of ideas between all those involved. All those involved use the opportunity to get to know each other better and to exchange ideas with other M²Aind partners across projects.

On the second day, the poster session of the first day was continued in the Ebernburgschänke. This was followed by a review of the first day of the conference. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our guest speaker Dr. Vanaya Todorova (Roche Diabetes Care GmbH) for a summary of the most important points on the first day of the conference. It continued with the panel discussion led by Professor Dr. Mathias Hafner was moderated. We thank Dr. Jens Fuchser, Bruker Daltonik GmbH, Dr. Siegfried Bialojan, Ernst & Young GmbH and Dr. Norbert-Karl Egger, Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH for a concise review of the cooperation to date.

In the second part of the day, Professor Dr. Thorsten Röder carried out an amusing online quiz, which the participants clearly liked. Then, divided into groups, “Visions for M²Aind” were discussed in terms of expectations, wishes and visions for the future. In the most beautiful weather, the speakers presented their results in the courtyard of the Ebernburg.

We thank all participants for the productive conference and look forward to the retreat on the Ebernburg next year. We are very happy about the good cooperation and the positive feedback on the event.

SM²all Mini Symposium 2018

Am 27.06.2018 fand zum ersten Mal das SM²all Mini Symposium Chemische Prozessentwicklung an der Hochschule Mannheim statt.

Well-known companies in the healthcare industry such as BASF, CHESS, Merck, Sanofi and GSK took part with great interest. The focus of the symposium was on the scientific work of the doctoral students, who dealt intensively with the aspects of the sub-project SM²all and process development and process analysis and presented them to the audience with great success:

  • Verena Fath, University of Mannheim: Autonomous process development and kinetic modeling
  • Clarissa Petrol, Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, chloromethane as methylating agent in a continuous reactor
  • Torsten Klement, Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, contactless kinetics measurement in a drop reactor using Raman
  • Guest lecture: Dr. Christina Rau, GlaxoSmithKline GmbH, characterization of the interactions of drug candidates with target proteins in complex matrices
  • Rebecca Brendel, Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, analysis of terpenes using ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) in complex matrices
  • Thomas Hufnagel, Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, investigations of crystallizations in the droplet reactor using high-resolution Raman spectroscopy

Many thanks to Dr. Christina Rau, Cellzome / GlaxoSmithKline GmbH, for her concise guest lecture. After the extremely positive feedback from the participants on the event, the SM²all Mini Symposium will take place annually.

Further information on the SM²all impulse project and the project team can be found at https://www.m2aind.hs-mannheim.de/en/projects/sm2all.html

MALDI Innovations in Pharma 2018

In cooperation with Bruker Daltonik GmbH, the innovation partnership M²Aind organized from 21.-22. February 2018 the specialist congress "MALDI Innovations in Pharma 2018" at the University of Mannheim. Over two days, around 120 representatives from industry and academia from the pharmaceutical, chemical and biotechnology sectors took the opportunity to network and exchange information on the latest research findings. The main focus of the event was, on the one hand, marker-free high-throughput screening methods using matrix-assisted laser desorption / ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry and applications of MALDI-MS imaging in the pharmaceutical industry and chemical biology. The various areas of application that were presented by the speakers in 16 lectures met with great interest from the audience.

The speakers came from research companies and institutions such as:

Analytik Jena (Germany), AstraZeneca (Great Britain), Boehringer Ingelheim (Germany), Bruker Daltonics (USA), Bruker Daltonik (Germany), CeMOS (Germany), GlaxoSmithKline (Great Britain), GlaxoSmithKline (USA), ImaBiotech (France), Inserm (France), Merck KGaA (Germany), Newcastle University (Great Britain), Roche Pharma (Switzerland), SCiLS GmbH (Germany)

Professor Dr. Carsten Hopf, initiator of the event and head of the CeMOS competence center - Center for Biomedical Mass Spectrometry and Optical Spectroscopy, invited interested parties to a tour through the Bruker Rhein-Neckar Center for MS Fingerprinting and Imaging, which is funded by the BMBF and DFG. Professor Hopf looks back with satisfaction on a successful congress with international specialist lectures: “There has never been an international congress for MALDI mass spectrometry fully tailored to the fields of interest of the pharmaceutical industry - screening assays on the one hand and imaging for DMPK and toxicology on the other. The great response documents the need for these technologies, and I am glad that Bruker organized such an event with M2Aind."

Vice-Rector for Research and Technology Transfer of the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, Professor Dr. Mathias Hafner, rates the event as a complete success for the M²Aind innovation partnership: “The great interest shown by industry in this event confirms that we have set the right priorities in research; We are internationally competitive here at the highest level. ”You can find the detailed program here Day 1 / Day 2

 

BRAIN AG and HS Mannheim develop 3D skin models for use in the health and cosmetics industries

Research collaboration in the M2Aind project for new high-resolution real-time screening technologies for 3D skin spheroids Mannheim University of Applied Sciences builds on expertise in the areas of 3D cell culture and state-of-the-art live cell imaging BRAIN contributes unique skin reporter cells, substance test libraries and market knowledge Review article in the Journal of Cellular Biotechnology

The research project M2Aind (Multimodal Analytics and Intelligent Sensor Technology for the Health Industry) is a public-private partnership project under the leadership of the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and which was launched in January 2017. BRAIN was an active partner in the M2Aind network from the start. Joint projects of BRAIN and the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences include the development of a skin model in 3D for a better understanding of the physiology of the skin with the aim of opening up new application possibilities in the health and cosmetics industry. Here you can find the complete press release as a PDF (Deutsch  und English).

M2Aind - at the interface of biomedicine, intelligent sensors and IT

With "M2Aind", the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences brings together 37 partners from large-scale industry and innovative small and medium-sized companies in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region at the interface between biomedicine, intelligent sensors and information technology.

The basis of the partnership is the strong research focus "Medical Biotechnology / Medical Technology" and "Intelligent Sensor Technology", the joint institute for medical technology with the University of Heidelberg and the BMBF Research Campus M2OLIE.

New products, services and innovative technologies for the healthcare industry are at the center of the M2Aind partnership. The scientists are doing research in three interlinked projects with the aim of combining highly complex technologies from the field of IT-supported multimodal analysis (e.g. imaging mass spectrometry) and intelligent sensors for new applications. In terms of content, the biocompatibility of implantable medical technology products, the optimization of active ingredients in the area of ​​cancer, three-dimensional cell culture models for neurodegenerative diseases or the search for sugar substitutes in the focus of research and development. M2Aind thus addresses the major challenges of the health industry in the areas of individualized medicine, innovative medical technology, common diseases, prevention and nutrition.

You can find the complete press release here (Unfortunately not online anymore)

Source: Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar, Digital-Gipfel 2017

"M2Aind" innovation partnership starts

With an opening event in the auditorium of the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, the innovation partnership “M2Aind - Multimodal Analytics and Intelligent Sensor Systems in the Healthcare Industry” has its official starting shot on April 7th at 10:00 am. With "M2Aind", the university brings together 37 partners from the healthcare industry from large and innovative small and medium-sized companies in the greater Rhine-Neckar-Main area. The research and work focus of the partnership moves at the interface between biomedicine and information technology.

The aim of "M2Aind" is to use modular, linked technology platforms to develop new products and services for the pharmaceutical, diagnostic, chemical and biotechnology industries. Highly integrated applications with a wide range of possible uses in IT-supported process and product analysis, organoid and tissue analysis as well as the latest optical measurement technology are used. The focus is on various challenges in the healthcare industry. These include, for example, solutions to questions relating to drug testing and safety or drug research in tumors.

"The comprehensive digitization of biomolecular information and a growing understanding of molecular relationships create undreamt-of possibilities for a targeted and individualized diagnosis, therapy and, if necessary, healing of common diseases", explains Prof. Dr. Carsten Hopf, spokesman for the partnership and head of the Institute for Instrumental Analysis and Bioanalytics. During the opening, Prof. Hopf and the project managers, Professors Dr. Thorsten Röder, Dr. Matthias Rädle, Dr. Rüdiger Rudolf and Dr. Mathias Hafner, the partnership concept and the three interlinked projects. The already existing strong research areas “Medical Biotechnology / Medical Technology” and “Intelligent Sensor Technology” as well as the joint institute for medical technology with the University of Heidelberg form the basis of the partnership at the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences.

You can find the complete press release here.

Source: Gesundheitsindustrie BW