Leibniz-HKI and Analytik Jena develop facility for automated testing of drug candidates
EDITOR ’ S CHOICE NEW ROBOTICS PLATFORM
LEIBNIZ-HKI & ANALYTIK JENA
Leibniz-HKI and Analytik Jena develop facility for automated testing of drug candidates
A new robotics platform was inaugurated at the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology ( Leibniz-HKI ) on Thursday , June 15 , 2023 , in the presence of Thuringia ’ s State Secretary for Research , Innovation and Economic Development . The highly modular facility serves the institute to accelerate the discovery of new antibiotics and is unique in Germany ’ s academic sector in its combination of size , degree of automation and flexibility . The robotics platform was designed and built in close cooperation with Analytik Jena GmbH + Co . KG .
The antibiotics crisis is one of the greatest medical challenges of our time . Increasing resistance means that people are once again dying from bacterial infections that were long considered to be easily treatable . At the same time , the pharmaceutical industry has largely withdrawn from the less profitable development of new antibiotics . A major reason for this is lack of profitability : antibiotics are used sparingly , sold at low prices , and also have short treatment durations .
Publicly funded research is trying to close this gap . “ As a state , we provide targeted support for application-oriented research in order to take the results all the way to value creation in Thuringia ,” said Katja Böhler , State Secretary for Research , Innovation and Economic Development at the Thuringian Ministry of Economic Affairs , Science and Digital Society . She referred in particular to the innovation umbrella program “ Thuringia
MOTIVation ,” which bundles all related funding instruments . “ Future-oriented cooperation between science and industry makes Jena and Thuringia a high-tech location with many highly qualified jobs . The new robotics facility is an example of how well this interplay between public and private players works here in the state .”
“ Antibiotic development with the help of public research funding is a major challenge that our institute is taking on ,” says Pierre Stallforth , deputy director and project leader of the new robotics platform at Leibniz- HKI . This was achieved most recently with the tuberculosis agent BTZ-043 , which was discovered at Leibniz-HKI and further developed in cooperation with academic partners and industry .
At the inauguration of the robotics platform , Thuringian State Secretary Katja Böhler ( center ) cut the symbolic blue ribbon together with Leibniz-HKI Administrative Director Elke Jäcksch ( right ) and facility manager Luzia Gyr ( left ).
Source : Anna Schroll / Leibniz-HKI
6 PECM Issue 63