Research & Training
The scientists at the center practice innovative pharmaceutical research. They research new pharmacological target structures as well as new chemical and biological lead structures and new modalities. The aim is to identify and develop potential drug candidates and future drugs. They are also researching the elucidation of mechanisms of action and developing innovative therapeutic concepts based on stem cells, RNA or nanotechnology, among other things. Therefore, technology platforms have been established and state-of-the-art methods are used. The scientists at the center practice innovative pharmaceutical research. They search for novel pharmacological target structures as well as new chemical and biological lead structures and new modalities. The objective is to identify potential drug candidates in order to aim for the development of future drugs. They are also researching the elucidation of mechanisms of action and developing innovative therapeutic concepts based on stem cells, RNA or nanotechnology, among other things. Therefore, technology platforms have been established and state-of-the-art methods are used.
The members of the Pharma Center Bonn (PZB) are actively involved in the training of young scientists in the graduate school BIGS DrugS, which is affiliated to the PZB.
The scientists at the PZB cover all areas of modern drug development:
Basic research, translational research, and clinical research
Basic Research
Basic research is the foundation for discovering novel mechanisms of action. It is also the foundation for developing drugs.
The Center’s structure is intended to promote fundamental research. In addition to the interdisciplinary, interfaculty and cross-faculty exchange of information, the provision of shared resources, such as the creation and maintenance of generally accessible platforms (core facilities), plays a decisive role.
Translational Research
Translational research is intended to support application-oriented research approaches ("from bench to bedside"). The results of fundamental research should be translated as quickly and efficiently as possible into therapies and the prevention of human diseases. The focus of the Pharma Center Bonn is amongst others on the development and use of highly informative and clinically relevant model systems for human diseases.
The spectrum ranges from primary human cells and tissues to organoids. The PZB cooperates closely with existing translational institutions at the University of Bonn, such as the Center for Translational Medicine at the Medical Faculty and the ENACOM Transfer Center at the University of Bonn.
Clinical Research
An important goal of the Pharma Center Bonn is the clinical application of newly developed drugs and therapeutic concepts. The PZB cooperates closely with the Study Center Bonn. The Study Center Bonn consists of the Clinical Study Centers of the hospitals, the Study Headquarters, the Phase I Unit, the Study Nurse Pool and administrative areas.
Research focus
- Investigation of therapeutic principles and development of innovative therapeutic approaches
- Investigation of new drug target structures and modalities
- Development of new chemical and biological lead structures as potential drug candidates
- Structure elucidation of drug targets
- Innovative therapeutic approaches based on stem cells, RNA and nanotechnology
- Development of gene therapy approaches
- Development of model systems that closely mimic human disease
The focus is on the following diseases:
- Diseases with high societal relevance, such as metabolic diseases (diabetes and obesity), cardiovascular diseases and neurodegenerative diseases
- Inflammatory and immunological diseases, infections and cancers
- Rare and neglected diseases
The Pharma Center has a wide range of technologies at its disposal.
State of the art, sophisticated, cutting edge technologies are increasingly determining the quality and success of scientific research
Platform "Chemical Analysis"
The Department of Pharmaceutical & Medicinal Chemistry has been operating the "Chemical Analysis" platform for more than 20 years. The platform offers an analytical service for the entire pharmaceutical industry and beyond, e.g. also for the PZB. The platform operates
- two high-field NMR spectrometers (500 MHz, 600 MHz)
- three mass spectrometers (including a highly sensitive instrument for quantitative analysis of biological matrices)
- and several capillary electrophoresis instruments.
It works closely with the analytical department of the neighboring chemical institutes. The two departments have different but complementary focuses, e.g. in mass spectrometry: while the Chemistry Department focuses on qualitative MS analysis and MS imaging, the Pharmacy Department has many years of experience in highly sensitive quantitative analysis.
Contact:
christa.mueller@uni-bonn.de
Compound Library
The Department of Pharmaceutical & Medicinal Chemistry has established a unique, proprietary compound library consisting of synthetic molecules and natural compounds. This library is currently being expanded.
Part of the library is focused on purine-binding membrane proteins as target structures (G protein-coupled receptors, ligand-gated ion channels, nucleoside and nucleotide-metabolizing enzymes).
A professional compound management system has been established to annotate physicochemical and pharmacological/biological data of the compounds in a complex, modular database system.
Our substance library collects and catalogs valuable substances that are often discarded in the academic environment at the end of a project. These compounds are protected from degradation and preserved for the long term through proper storage.
High throughput screening approaches, which are increasingly used in academic research as well as in the pharmaceutical industry, require a large number of test compounds. Our substance library provides these.
Contact:
christa.mueller@uni-bonn.de
Core Facility "Protein Synthesis and Bioanalytics" (PSBA)
The Core Facility "Protein Synthesis and Bioanalytics" (PSBA) offers services and consulting in the field of peptide synthesis, protein synthesis (including expression) and analysis of peptides and proteins. The Core Facility was founded in October 2017 at the Pharmaceutical Institute (Campus Endenich) of the University of Bonn. The Core Facility services cover the following categories:
- Peptide synthesis and purification
- Protein synthesis and purification
- Bioanalytical methods for peptide and protein characterization
Contact:
dimhof[at]uni-bonn.de
Viral Vector Facility “Viral Vectors and Nanomedicine”
Viral Vectors
Our mission is to combine modern virology with transgenic technologies. Lentiviral vectors are a promising tool in molecular biology and gene therapy. Lentiviruses are able to efficiently transduce non-dividing cells in vitro and in vivo, such as neurons, hepatocytes and muscle cells. In addition, these vectors can be used for gene transfer into stem cells, such as embryonic stem (ES) cells.
We and others have established methods that allow the use of lentiviral vectors to generate transgenic animals (lentiviral transgenesis). Transduction of preimplantation embryos with lentiviral vectors results in the expression of lentivirally delivered transgenes during embryonic development and in the newborn and adult animal. Lentiviral transgenesis has been established in many species, including mice, pigs, rats, cattle and chickens.
Nanomedicine
The aim is to develop nanomedicine-based strategies for the targeted delivery of innovative therapies such as genetic material (nucleic acids and viral vectors) or genetically modified cells (in particular stem and progenitor cells) in the cardiovascular system and the central nervous system (see also DFG Research Unit 917 "Nanoguide").
Contact:
alexander.pfeifer@uni-bonn.de
Bonn Obesity and Metabolic Research Center (BiOM)
As a university-based obesity and metabolic research center, BiOM researches and treats patients with morbid obesity and associated metabolic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, fatty liver and neurodegenerative diseases.
Our interdisciplinary team works according to the latest scientific methods. We respond to the individual needs of our patients and create customized treatment paths. The research partner in the field of obesity is the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology. Their research focuses on the metabolism of brown adipose tissue.
This tissue is increasingly becoming the focus of modern obesity research due to its ability to burn calories into heat. We use indirect calorimetry and NMR spectroscopy. Thanks to its unique structure, the BiOM combines state-of-the-art individualized patient care with applied biomedical research in the field of obesity and metabolic medicine.
Contact:
alexander.pfeifer@uni-bonn.de
Core Facilities Bonn Technology Campus (BTC) Life Sciences
The Faculty of Medicine Bonn founded the Bonn Technology Campus (BTC) Life Sciences in 2016. The core facilities of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences and the Faculty of Agriculture, Nutrition and Engineering have now been integrated into the BTC. State-of-the-art scientific technologies are bundled and offered under the umbrella of the BTC. This bundling is a scientifically and economically optimal solution to support cutting-edge research. The BTC offers the following core facilities, among others:
- Bioinformatics
- Cell Programming
- Climate chambers
- Flow Cytometry
- Gene Editing
- Magnetic Resonance Tomography
- Microscopy
- Nanobodies
- Next Generation Sequencing
- Proteomics
- Virus
- Zebrafish
2008
Fonded
28
Memebers from three faculies
+30
Acquired collaborative projects
The continuous introduction of students and PhD students to modern pharmaceutical research is an important goal of the Pharma Center Bonn. Undergraduate and graduate students are integrated into the center's research projects. The PZB founded the Bonn International Graduate School of Drug Sciences (BIGS DrugS) to bundle these activities.
BIGS DrugS
The Bonn International Graduate School of Drug Sciences (BIGS DrugS) was established by the PZB to optimize the training of young scientists in pharmaceutical research. BIGS DrugS offers a three-year interdisciplinary, structured training program for PhD students. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) funded BIGS DrugS from 2014 to 2020 with the project "BMBF BIGS DrugS: Bonn International Graduate School of Drug Sciences - Translational and Innovative Drug Research".
Lecture Series on Drug Development
The PZB offers the interdisciplinary "Lecture Series on Drug Development", which takes place every three years. It addresses BIGS-DrugS PhD students as well as PhD students from related life science disciplines.
This special lecture series imparts basic knowledge and covers all elements of pharmaceutical research.
Pharmaceutical Colloquium
The scientists of the PZB plan and organize the "Pharmaceutical Colloquium" with top-class lectures on current topics in pharmaceutical research. Excellent guest speakers from Germany and abroad are invited. The colloquium is aimed at scientists, graduate students and undergraduates.
Contact
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About us
Optimizing the complex and interdisciplinary process of modern drug discovery to accelerate drug discovery and development.
Members of PZB
Experts from different areas of drug research from three faculties of Bonn University.
Projects
The pooling of the expertise of the scientists and the successful joint research in interdisciplinary projects.