GC-I³ scientist Prof. Dr. Berend Isermann receives an award for innovation

Prof. Dr. med. Berend Isermann, director of the Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Pathobiochemistry at the Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, PI of SFB 854 and researcher at the Health Campus Immunology, Infectiology and Inflammation, is one of only three researchers awarded with this year’s innovation award from the BioRegionen Deutschlands.

„With the innovation award from BioRegionen Deutschlands, we show outstanding research results in the areas of biotechnology and life sciences“, explained Dr. Hinrich Habeck, speaker for the BioRegionen work group.  “This year’s jurors had an enormous challenge, picking the winners from a large pool of good applicants.” 

With this recognition, Prof. Isermann and his team hope to prevent deadly complications after bone marrow transplants.  One such transplant is often the only treatment option for patients with malicious blood diseases.  The success of this therapy is often impaired by the feared “graft-versus-host disease” (GvHD).  This complication involves the transplanted donor immune cells, especially T cells, attacking the recipients cells.  Using immunosuppressives, which dampen the reaction of the immune system, GvHD can be controlled for some patients. However, there are two problems with this method: first, immunosuppressives are not effective for around half of all patients and second, the reaction between the donated T cells and leukemia cells is desirable and important, and this reaction is also reduced by the immunosuppressives. 

Here the innovative new treatment from Prof. Isermann comes into play. Through an hour-long treatment of the T cells with a body specific protein, the coagulation protease–activated protein C (aPC), before the transplant GvHD can be reduced. At the same time, the desired donor cell reaction against the tumor cells and thus the goal of the bone marrow transplant remains effective.  This novel treatment is therefore extremely targeted and would be a real breakthrough for affected patients. 

The researchers would now like to evaluate this method in clinical studies and clear the way to use this treatment on human patients.  The results have already been shown to work on human T cells in a “humanized mouse model”, in which the cell treatment occurred in the donor before the transplant. And even when the aPC was removed by washing before the transfer, the positive effect remained.  Because of this, the scientists are optimistic and hope that they have found an effective therapy against GvHD that is safe and has few side effects. 

The work group BioRegionen Deutschlands held this competition for the 11^th time. The awards ceremony for this year’s winners took place on the 18^th of April 2018 in Berlin.  Each winner received 2000 Euros as appreciation for superb ideas and patents in the fields of biotechnology and life sciences.

Text: Dr. Martina Beyrau                                                                

Photo: From left to right.: Dr. Hinrich Habeck, Speaker for the Arbeitskreises der BioRegionen, Prof. Dr. Berend Isermann and Dr. Martin Pfister, Senior Investment Manager at High-Tech Gründerfonds. (Photo: Sera Z. Kurc)