Serious lung conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are among the most common causes of death worldwide. The GO-Bio next project BioLung is developing an artificial lung with an innovative capillary membrane structure that mimics the natural structure of blood vessels. The aim is to make extracorporeal lung support gentler, safer and suitable for long-term use.

More than 51 million people worldwide live with epilepsy. However, diagnosing and monitoring the condition are often time-consuming, costly or only possible to a limited extent in everyday life. The GO-Bio next project PearNet3 is developing an innovative body sensor network designed to detect epileptic seizures more accurately and enable continuous monitoring outside specialist clinics.

Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia and is one of the greatest medical challenges of our time. Despite intensive research, there is as yet no treatment that can address the underlying cause of the disease’s progression. The GO-Bio next project TauSafe is developing an innovative active substance designed to stabilise the tau protein and thereby intervene at an early stage in the disease process.

Membrane proteins are among the most important targets for modern medicines. However, producing them for research and drug discovery is often difficult and time-consuming. The GO-Bio next project MemStacks is developing an innovative platform technology based on artificial membrane organelles to efficiently deliver membrane proteins and open up new possibilities for biotechnological and pharmaceutical research.

The hospital pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) causes serious infections – from pneumonia to sepsis. INNOPAK is developing fully human precision antibodies that neutralise a key virulence factor, thereby opening up a novel, antibiotic-independent therapeutic option.

Tumour recurrences often arise from cancer cells that transition into a temporary dormant state (senescence) during primary therapy. These “sleeping” tumour cells can, however, become active again later and trigger recurrences. The “Senolytika‑3” project is developing active substances that specifically eliminate such senescent tumour cells. The goal is to prevent recurrences and significantly improve patients’ chances of recovery.

A ray of hope for the fight against Duchenne muscular dystrophy – a genetic, progressive muscle disease that primarily affects boys. There is currently no cure for the affected children. The EDGE team wants to change this and is developing universal delivery vehicles that transport gene therapeutics specifically, efficiently and safely into the affected cells. The technology is to be used for the first time in the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Despite progress in fighting the disease – e.g. through antibodies and RNA therapies – there is still a lack of treatment options with greater precision and fewer side effects. The DNAmazing project addresses this by developing a platform based on DNAzymes. These are short DNA sequences that specifically cleave disease-relevant RNA – for more precise and better‑tolerated cancer therapies.

HeartGate is developing an implantation set that enables the implantation of heart pumps on a beating heart. The procedure can be performed without a heart-lung machine, making it less invasive, reducing surgery time and lowering risks. This opens up new therapeutic options for high-risk patients.

Cell therapies require a large number of high-quality stem cells – however, conventional bioreactors for their multiplication quickly reach their limits regarding the necessary oxygen input. KISSEN addresses exactly this point: a novel membrane stirrer provides the cells with oxygen in a bubble-free manner, thereby sparing sensitive cultures and enabling scaling to significantly larger production volumes. This reduces manufacturing costs and enables a broader application of stem cell therapies.