New centre for regenerative medicine launched at Tübingen University.

Around 30 partners in the Neckar-Alb and Stuttgart health region will work in cooperation with the University Hospital Tübingen (UKT) and the Medical Faculty of Tübingen University to set up the centre.

Klaus Eichenberg, Managing Director of BioRegio STERN Management GmbH, which will manage the centre, is convinced the REGiNA pilot project will help regenerative medicine to become firmly established in the healthcare system, and enable it to develop into a standard in patient care. “This subject area is still comparatively new, but has the potential to revolutionise modern medicine and initiate a paradigm shift from repair to actual healing,” he said.

While BioRegio STERN is responsible for overall administration, the UKT’s staff will take care of clinical coordination. Michael Bamberg, Managing Medical Director of the UKT, underlined the central role that regenerative medicine is set to play in healthcare, providing a number of examples in treating chronic wounds, musculoskeletal diseases and cardiovascular conditions.

He is looking forward to meeting the challenges that face the UKT as a pioneer in the field. “I’m convinced we will play an exceptional role in regenerative medicine,” Bamberg said.

Ingo Autenrieth, Dean of the Medical Faculty of Tübingen University, said, “By pooling the expertise of all partners, we will be faster and more effective at incorporating research results into applications.” The research projects will focus on enabling patients to benefit more quickly from developments in regenerative medicine.

Christian Erbe, Managing Partner of ERBE Elektromedizin GmbH in Tübingen and Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) in Reutlingen, highlighted the importance of the project for the medtech sector. “REGiNA is an excellent catalyst that can encourage traditional medtech companies to turn to biotechnology and plug a gap in the market.”

In Erbe’s view, the sector in Germany is well-positioned compared to other countries, but he fears losing market share to low-wage countries. Innovative cooperation arrangements between biotech and medtech companies, as provided for in REGiNA, will, it is hoped,  open up new horizons.

BioRegio STERN is a skill-sharing network, providing help and advice for founders of new businesses, entrepreneurs and researchers in the biotechnology sector in the region comprising Stuttgart, Tübingen, Esslingen, Reutlingen and Neckar-Alb in Germany.