Groundbreaking research into pharmaceuticals in Salzburg
Bioscientist Nicole Meisner-Kober is conducting research at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute in Salzburg into the development of completely new active substances for the treatment of a wide range of diseases, especially cancer. She and her team are investigating how so-called vesicles could be used as transporters for active substances in the body. The institute is funded with 15 million euros by the Ludwig Boltzmann Society and the state of Salzburg.
This basic research, which is carried out at the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg, could lead to new therapies and treatment methods that do not yet exist. At the same time, the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute is a prime example of Salzburg’s expertise in the field of life sciences, i.e. research and development in health and medicine. Another special feature of the institute is that it bridges the gap between basic research and large-scale application.
Haslauer: ‘Life science is one of Salzburg’s strengths.’
For Governor Wilfried Haslauer, the Ludwig Bolzmann Institute, which conducts research in Salzburg at the highest level with international appeal, shows ‘that our province is already a major player in the life sciences. We want to further expand this strength with the Life Sciences Masterplan and also promote other research projects in this field so that the results also find their way into application,’ says Haslauer, adding: ’The focus here is always on people, the aim is to improve our quality of life.’
Meisner-Kober: ‘Huge potential for many therapies.’
The vesicles being researched in Salzburg are small bubbles that play a fundamental role in cell communication. ‘This offers huge potential if you want to introduce active substances into the body, make them available and transport them across barriers in a targeted manner,’ says Nicole Meisner-Kober, Director of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Nanovesicular Precision Medicine.
Opportunities for cancer therapy
There are potential applications for the vesicles researched in Salzburg, particularly in cancer therapy. ‘There are a number of active substances that would be good, but lead to side effects in healthy tissue. If it were possible to administer an active ingredient specifically into a tumour or metastases, that would be a breakthrough in cancer therapy,’ says Meisner-Kober and she adds: ’Now it’s about finding out where the difficulties are in production and how we can introduce active ingredients and which vesicles are suitable for which application.’
