Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology, Branch Bioanalytics and Bioprocesses IZI-BBProject | »NGD«: Next Generation Drugs
Biotechnologically Activated Drugs – An Innovative Platform for Precision Medicine
The goal of the »Next Generation Drugs« (NGD) collaborative project, led by BTU Cottbus Senftenberg and the Fraunhofer institutes IZI-BB and IAP, is to develop drugs that take effect immediately while avoiding unnecessary side effects. This large-scale project is being funded for five years by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as part of the structural transformation in Lausitz and is considered a flagship initiative of the BTU’s »Health and Life Sciences« research focus at the Lausitz Science Park.
The Fraunhofer IZI-BB focuses on cell- and enzyme-based metabolization platforms: On the one hand, it develops specialized liver models for the in vitro simulation of human biotransformations; on the other hand, it uses cell-free protein synthesis to optimize nonspecific peroxygenases. These biocatalysts enable the selective synthesis of active metabolites – initially the antiplatelet agent clopidogrel and the breast cancer drug Tamoxifen.
The Department of Enzyme Technology and the Department of Molecular Cell Biology at BTU are responsible for the scaled-up production of the optimized peroxygenases, the subsequent synthesis of the NGDs, and their testing in cell-based systems and in animal studies. Formulation development as well as stability and biocompatibility studies are conducted at Fraunhofer IAP.
In the future, the modular platform is to be applied to other drug candidates in pharmaceutical research, thereby paving the way for a new generation of faster and safer medications.