STW grant for innovative biopharmaceuticals
The Technology Foundation STW has awarded a grant of EUR 1.5 million to a research consortium involved in the development of new biopharmaceuticals. Participants from the University of Groningen are the groups of Prof. R. Bischoff (Analytical Biochemistry) and Prof. W.J. Quax (Pharmaceutical Biology). In addition to STW, several companies are also supporting the research to the tune of about EUR 0.8 million.
The development of biopharmaceuticals (pharmaceutical proteins) is very important to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries because breakthroughs in the pharmaceutical field are expected to occur in just this type of product.
One well-known pharmaceutical protein that has been successfully used for years is insulin. Modern biopharmaceuticals are monoclonal antibodies (very promising in the treatment of certain types of cancer), the human growth hormone and cytokines like interferons.
The proteins have a very complex chemical structure. This means that new technologies have to be developed to analyse them. This is essential not only for screening new proteins, but also for analysing the behaviour of these substances in the body.
The consortium, which comprises research groups from Utrecht University, VU University Amsterdam and the University of Groningen, has extensive expertise in this field and also has very advanced equipment. The grant was awarded because both the level of scientific innovation and the applicability were assessed as excellent.
More information: Prof. R.P.H. Bischoff, Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy, Analytical Biochemistry
| Last modified: | 11 March 2022 08.42 a.m. |
More news
-
10 September 2025
Funding for Feringa and Minnaard from National Growth Fund project Big Chemistry
Two UG research projects have received funding from the National Growth Fund project Big Chemistry via NWO.
-
09 September 2025
The carbon cycle as Earth’s thermostat
Earth's natural carbon cycle becomes unbalanced if we, humans, continue to release extra carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. In this overview article about the carbon cycle, you can find out how Earth generally keeps itself in balance and how...
-
09 September 2025
Carbon dioxide’s fingerprint
In the year 2000, Harro Meijer, Professor of Isotope Physics at the University of Groningen, set up the Lutjewad Measurement Station near Hornhuizen. There, researchers from Groningen are mapping where CO2 in the atmosphere originates and where it...