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16. May 2002
International prizes for research projects supported by SWITCH Biotech
Double recognition for wound healing
Martinsried, 16th May 2002 - In May this year, two research projects in wound healing were distinguished with international awards; a partner in both of these projects is SWITCH Biotech AG in Martinsried.
The Wound Healing Prize for 2002, awarded by the Chirurgische Arbeitsgemeinschaft Wundheilung (Surgical Study Group for Wound Healing) of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Chirurgie (German Surgical Society), has been awarded to the team headed by Professor Sabine Werner of the Institute of Cell Biology at the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule in Zürich. The prize was delivered at the annual meeting of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Chirurgie in Berlin, to Dr. Irmgard Thorey, who is the first author of the group´s award-winning paper entitled "The Ca2+-binding Proteins S100A8 and S100A9 Are Encoded by Novel-Injury-regulated Genes".
Another prize went to the Department of Pathology at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, to the group directed by Prof. Jeffrey Davidson. At the joint meeting of the European Tissue Repair Society and the Wound Healing Society end of May in Baltimore, Davidson´s co-worker Dr. Yubin Shi will receive the Ortho-McNeil Young Investigator Prize for his research entitled, "CARP, a Cardiac Ankyrin Repeat Protein, is Upregulated During Wound Healing and Induces Angiogenesis in Experimental Granulation Tissue". His work has shown for the first time that this gene promotes angiogenesis (blood-vessel formation) in wounds.
In Europe, the USA and Japan alone, some 14 million people suffer from chronic wounds, and this figure is expected to rise substantially in coming years because of an increase in the number of people suffering from diabetes II. Current effort in wound-healing research is directed towards developing new methods for promoting wound closure, to be used alongside the traditional approaches of debridement and infection control. The most important of these innovations include the use of skin substitutes and biomolecules that stimulate skin repair. The two award-winning scientists work in this second area.
Thorey´s research has contributed to a better understanding of the molecular basis of wound-healing processes. The genes S100A8 and S100A9, which she has worked on, become activated during the wound-healing process. They appear in high concentrations, especially at the edges of the wound. A further increase of their concentration by targeted application of these genes onto the wound accelerates the formation of new skin cells and results in more rapid closure of the wound.
Shi is investigating the CARP gene, which encodes an activator of other genes. It had been assumed that this gene was only active in cardiac and muscle tissue. However, Shi and his co-workers have now shown that CARP is switched on in experimental wounds, and increased CARP expression leads to the production of new blood-vessels and to improved circulation in the wound region. This could be of importance, for example, in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers, in which poor circulation in the capillaries - "micro-angiopathy" - produces chronic foot ulcers that often lead to amputation.
The two prize-winners have been working in close collaboration with SWITCH Biotech for more than two years. Dr. Andreas Goppelt, Chief Scientific Officer of SWITCH, comments on the awards: "SWITCH has been conducting research into the genetic basis of wound healing ever since the company´s foundation four years ago. Our goal is to develop new drugs for the healing of chronic wounds. To this end, we have entered into research collaborations with top international scientists in this field. We are extremely pleased that our joint efforts have been recognised in this way."
About Switch Biotech:
SWITCH Biotech AG carries out genetic research to identify target molecules which are involved in the wound healing process and skin diseases. The objective is to develop, in conjunction with pharmaceutical companies, new medication to be used in the treatment of dermatological complaints (psoriasis, atopic dermatitis etc.) and badly healing wounds.
The third round of financing was increased in April 2002, bringing the total investment to 23.8 million Euro. In the previous two rounds of financing the company has received 10.6 million Euro. They were supplied by venture capital providers, private investors, founding members and silent partners.
Switch Biotech is based in Martinsried, near Munich. The company, which employs 80 people, was founded in 1997 by eight scientists as a spin-off of the Gene Center in Munich.
Downloads:
Text (rtf-file) in "Presse Pool": www.biocommunications.net available
Further information is available on www.switch-biotech.com.
SWITCH Biotech AG
Illa Knappik
Fraunhoferstrasse 10
D-82152 Martinsried
Tel. 0049-89-89 96 71 30
Fax: 0049-89-89 96 71 77
E-mail: knappik@switch-biotech.com
http://www.switch-biotech.com
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