The Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) welcomes the acquisition of the Braunschweig site of the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine (ITEM) by AveThera GmbH, effective March 16, 2026, as an important step for the region and particularly for the Science Campus Braunschweig-Süd. Core competencies in pharmaceutical biotechnology will remain in Braunschweig, while the Science Campus will be further strengthened as a center for the development and manufacturing of modern biopharmaceutical products.

An interdisciplinary consortium consisting of TWINCORE, Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, the University of Lübeck and Hannover Medical School (MHH), is receiving funding of around €999,000 from the Volkswagen Foundation. Under the leadership of Prof. Thomas Pietschmann, the team plans to optimize active substances against the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) over the next two years. TWINCORE and HIPS are sites of the HZI in collaboration with MHH and Saarland University, respectively.

The Science4Life Startup Competition supports teams of founders from the life sciences, chemistry, and energy sectors in transforming their excellent scientific ideas into marketable innovations. In the latest concept phase, the team behind the “PROTON” project from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) was named the winner. PROTON is developing a novel active substance for the treatment of infections caused by the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. Of the 91 applications for the concept phase of the Science4Life Venture Cup, the organizers invited ten teams to present their concepts. Ultimately, they selected five winning teams from the fields of life sciences and chemistry, as well as one team from the field of energy research.