Rapid growth of the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology
Leipzig's first Fraunhofer Institute was founded exactly ten years ago on 29 April 2005. Laboratories were set up, offices were occupied and a first cleanroom facility for pharmaceutical manufacture of cell products was established on the premises of the Bio City.
In the first year of its existence, the Institute had exactly 16 employees and a budget of around €500,000. Within "just" ten years the site in Leipzig grew to more than 300 employees. A further 200 employees now work in the three branch offices in Potsdam, Halle and Rostock. In 2014, they had a total financial volume of €28.5 million.
"Cell division" completed as requested by Tiefensee
In June 2008 after a construction period of less than two years, the Institute's first own research building with state-of-the-art laboratories for cell and molecular biology work was occupied on the site of the old technical trade fair centre. This was followed in December 2012 by the second construction phase involving another cleanroom facility and special equipment for imaging technologies. The third construction phase was completed in spring 2015 and was officially opened during the anniversary celebrations. A third cleanroom facility, a special laboratory in safety class 3 for work on infection biology and a transparent prototype laboratory complete the research infrastructure at the Leipzig site. The entire complex now comprises a useful area of 8,700 m². The total costs for all three building sections amounting to €57.4 million, out of which a sum of €16.5 million was spent on basic equipment, were financed by the EU (60%), the German Federal Government (20%) and the Free State of Saxony (20%).
Prof. Dr. Frank Emmrich, the Director of the Institute, expressed his gratitude to all sponsors and supporters during the press conference: "Special thanks are also extended to the city of Leipzig which provided us with the properties where we now work and conduct research. Its Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer also helped us, in particular, in the development phase that is difficult for every institute."
Wolfgang Tiefensee , the incumbent Lord Mayor of Leipzig during the foundation phase and currently the Thuringian Minister of Economics, Science and Digital Society, still clearly remembered his congratulations during the opening in 2008. His words "[...] I want cell division!" were proved to be right. Wolfgang Tiefensee, Uwe Albrecht, Mayor of Leipzig, and Prof. Dr. Alexander Kurz, a member of the Executive Board of the Fraunhofer Society, were the first people to see this successful cell division for themselves during the press tour of the recently completed new building.
Intensive cooperation with universities in Leipzig
During the official ceremony in the afternoon Prof. Dr. Beate Schücking, Rector of Leipzig University, emphasised the successful cooperation between the Fraunhofer IZI and Leipzig universities, especially in the fields of biotechnology and regenerative medicine. The Institute therefore represents an important part of the cluster strategy of the city of Leipzig.
Uwe Albrecht, Mayor and Councillor for Economics and Labour, underlined this in his welcoming address: "The Institute makes an important contribution to the image of the city of Leipzig. With its growth and international relations, the Institute is helping to also network Leipzig as a science location beyond the borders of Germany and Europe."
Positive effects: settlements and spin-offs
With a total of thirteen settlement and spin-off projects, the Fraunhofer IZI has also contributed towards the development of the location and the biotechnology industry in Saxony. State Secretary Uwe Gau, representing Minister of State Eva-Maria Stange, also referred to this and stressed the successes of the biotechnology offensive in Saxony during his welcoming address: "Through its range of services in the area of life sciences, the Fraunhofer IZI supplements one of Fraunhofer's strongest locations in Germany and therefore also helps to close the gap between excellent basic research and clinical research in the field of regenerative medicine."
Following the official ceremony, the researchers provided the guests with an insight into the infrastructure and selected topics from ten years of the Fraunhofer IZI during guided tours of the two most recent research buildings. The employees of the Institute have implemented just under 300 projects since it was founded. The focal points of their work were stroke research, the development of new biomarkers for early diagnosis of cancer, new drugs to treat chronically inflammatory diseases, testing and manufacture of cell-based cancer therapies and the development of new vaccinations. Diagnostic methods for human and veterinary medicine were also developed. The recent research areas at the Institute include Alzheimer's research at the site in Halle and automation of bioprocesses at the Institute's facility in Potsdam.
Profile of the IZI
The Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI) conducts research and develops special problem solutions at the interfaces between medicine, biosciences and engineering sciences.
One of the main tasks here involves contract research for companies in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical technology industries, as well as for clinics, diagnostic laboratories and research institutes. Within the business areas of drugs, cell therapy, diagnostics and biobanks, the Fraunhofer IZI develops, optimises and validates processes, materials and products.
The Institute possesses expertise in the fields of cell biology, immunology, drug biochemistry, bio-analytics, bioproduction, process development and automation.
The focal points of the research in these fields are oncology, ischemia, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, infectious diseases and regenerative medicine.