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Hessian
Prime Minister, Roland Koch,
visited the Center for Drug
Research, Development and Safety
(ZAFES) on July 8th, 2004. The
reason for his visit was the
grand opening of the Frankfurt
Center for Innovation in Biotechnology
(FIZ), where the new offices
of ZAFES are located.
The ZAFES location, in the FIZ
on the Riedberg Campus of the
Johann Wolfgang Goethe University
Frankfurt, exemplifies the significance
of this center: the close proximity
to academic research on the
one hand and the economic realization
on the other.
Hessian Prime Minister, Roland
Koch, was impressed by the concept
of ZAFES. “The Center
promotes the actual collaboration
between University and Industry.”
Prof. Gerd Geißlinger,
the speaker of the ZAFES board,
emphasized that first successes
have been accomplished. We are
able to cover almost all aspects
of the value chain for the development
of a novel drug and by that
are able to accelerate the development
of innovative drugs. To reach
our goal we combine the excellent
knowledge of the three worlds
“University, Pharmaceutical
Industry and Biotechnology”.
As a result, a collaboration
was established in June 2004
with the California based company
Ciphergen, to develop drugs
against Alzheimer disease. Without
the ZAFES platform the university
research would have been of
no interest to this company.
ZAFES, along with the Berlin
biotech company Medical Enzymes,
is pursuing an additional project.
ZAFES director Dr. Bernd Stowasser
explained that in this project
ZAFES members investigate, in
collaboration with the industrial
partners, novel enzymatic therapies
for the treatment of tumors.
Prof. Rudolf Steinberg, the
president of the Frankfurt University
pointed out, that the industrial
partners large interest in ZAFES
is demonstrated by the fact
that Aventis “lends”
the ZAFES director to the University.
“These are remarkable
initial achievements,”
stated Koch: “Hessian
needs more of these good examples
where industrial and university
partners collaborate early on
to produce novel products and
jobs.”
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