The winning teams are addressing very different challenges in medicine: One of the selected teams is developing special viruses, bacteriophages, that can be used to circumvent antibiotic resistance. Two of the winning teams are working on innovative therapeutic options for the treatment of diabetes, a widespread disease, and another team is working on the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Another m4 Award-winning team is seeking to find a solution for hair loss.
Four of the winning teams conduct research in Munich: one group at the Helmholtz Zentrum München, one team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), one group at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU), and one team in a collaboration between TUM and LMU. The fifth winning team works at the University Hospital Erlangen. More than 26 applications for the m4 Award were received from research institutions across Bavaria.
Financial support and active support from BioM
With prize money of up to €500,000 over two years, the competition supports the further development and validation of the respective project idea in preparation for a spin-off. The scientists receive not only financial support but also active support from BioM and other partners as well as industry experts.
State Secretary Roland Weigert stated in his video message:
"The Free State of Bavaria has not remained idle and, for example, is providing over 50 million euros in funding to Bavarian biotechnology companies in the development of therapeutics against COVID-19 as part of the Bavarian Therapy Strategy. With its initiative, Bavaria has also been an important driving force at the federal and EU levels."
Horst Domdey, Managing Director of BioM, was enthusiastic about the winning teams and their products during the event:
“The m4 Award has been a success story for years, and I am confident that this will continue with this year’s winners.”
With the m4 Award, initiated in 2011 by BioM, the network organization for the biotechnology industry in Munich and Bavaria, the Free State of Bavaria supports innovative products, technologies, and services from young companies that are making a decisive contribution to advancing the development of future medicine. The prize is awarded every two years.
The winners of the m4 Award 2021: Diabetes and bacteriophages
Targeting ß-cell protection and regeneration for diabetes remission (BetaRegeneration): Diabetes is a widespread disease that is still treated symptomatically. A cure is currently unknown. Heiko Lickert's team at the Helmholtz Zentrum München is developing a monoclonal antibody against an insulin-inhibiting receptor that has a protective effect on pancreatic beta cells. This novel approach could make causal therapy for diabetes possible for the first time.
First-in-class agonists / antagonists a novel & essential sugar metabolite receptor (SugarSwitch): Obesity and insulin resistance have become a pandemic. Twenty percent of Europeans will develop type 2 diabetes (T2D) by 2030. Andreas Ladurner's team at LMU is developing agonists and antagonists (small molecule drugs) for a transcription factor that is crucial for glucose and lipid homeostasis.
In vitro synthesis of multivalent bacteriophages for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant infections (Invitris): Antibiotic-resistant germs represent a major problem that will become increasingly serious in the coming years. The idea of treating infections caused by resistant germs with bacteriophages, i.e., viruses that infect bacteria, has existed for almost 100 years. However, this approach has not yet gained traction because phage production has not been scalable and has had to be carried out in the pathogenic host bacteria. Invitris (Technische Universität München) has now developed a technology that, for the first time, allows genetically optimized bacteriophages to be produced in vitro for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant infections.
Remedy for atherosclerosis and hair loss
Preclinical development of peptide-based chemokine receptor mimetics as ligand-selective agents in atherosclerotic diseases (Seleckrem): Despite significant medical advances, atherosclerotic diseases such as heart attacks and strokes remain the leading cause of death worldwide. A major problem is the persistent risk of inflammation in patients otherwise treated with lipid-lowering drugs. With the m4 application, the team led by Jürgen Bernhagen (LMU Klinikum) and Aphrodite Kapurniotu (TUM) aims to develop chemokine receptor mimetics as a new class of drugs for the selective inhibition of atherosclerosis-causing chemokines for the huge pharmaceutical market for cardiovascular diseases.
Soluble CD83 as a new product for topical treatment of hair loss (MalliaBioTech): Hormonally-induced hair loss is a major problem worldwide, affecting approximately 70 percent of all men and 40 percent of all women. However, there are currently only two active ingredients with scientifically proven effectiveness available for treatment. These have significant disadvantages, such as the loss of effect after a short interruption in therapy. Alexander Steinkasserer's team at the University Hospital Erlangen is developing a new active ingredient based on a soluble form of the CD83 molecule for the topical treatment of hormonally-induced hair loss. This active ingredient has so far shown no side effects in pre-clinical studies and, unlike the two approved substances, stimulates the formation of new hair follicles and thus induces new hair growth. Due to this USP, the new product has the potential to conquer the large, unmet hair loss market and possibly even expand it further in the medium term.
