|
HEALTH CARE & CURE
[LIFE-SCI/GOV: Maastricht, November 30]
This webcast is designed to introduce the viewer to The Province of Limburg’s (NL) Acceleration Agenda by talking to Guy Peeters, CEO of AZM, Maastricht’s University hospital about developments in his field and to Guus Broos Of the Orbis healthcare group in Sittard about top care with a look at Limburg’s wellness facilities in its glorious, accompanied by the sound effects of a little fresh air on an Autumn day..
The growing demand for care offers the life sciences sector major opportunities. Health, care and nutrition are becoming increasingly important in our society. It is a sector with a cross-border dimension. Approximately 250 companies are currently active in the life sciences in the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion. Various networks have developed between the university hospitals and universities; one example is the strategic alliance between the university hospitals in Maastricht and Aachen, concluded in 2004. The research and production competencies of DSM Limburg have many interfaces with the life sciences; the production of biomedical materials is a good example.
The unfolding alliance with Singapore must be mentioned in this context. This world leader in the life sciences is discovering the huge, global potential of the Euroregion and may shortly establish its “bridgehead” to the European markets here. TTR-ZON is developing a Centre for Molecular Medicine (CMM) which will focus on molecular imaging, molecular diagnostics and molecular therapy. The CMM’s participants are Eindhoven University of Technology, Maastricht University, University Hospital Maastricht, Philips Research and Organon.
In Maastricht’s Randwijck district, a campus is currently being created for Maastricht University (UM), University Hospital Maastricht (azM) and such parties as BioPartner Centre Maastricht (with 15 life sciences start-ups), Medtronic, Bracco, Esaote Pie Medical and various health care institutions. Together these organisations will create approximately 7,000 jobs.
A number of other important developments are taking place in Randwijck:
A human cell cultivation facility is being set up at the BioPartner Centre Maastricht. The centre will be used by businesses to cultivate human cells according to the GMP standard, making clinical applications possible. One of the first users is a company that will cultivate cardiac muscle cells. The human cell cultivation facility will become operational in late 2005.
Servatius housing corporation is developing the Calatrava Campus, a prestigious architectural project that will include 650 flats for guest researchers and foreign students, sports facilities and offices. Construction is scheduled to commence in 2005 and the campus will be ready for use in 2007 (See the Webcast).
Some 100,000 square metres of space have been set aside in the Randwijck-Zuid district for Health Care & Cure businesses and other organisations. The campus is set to grow into one huge Triple Helix cluster. Another development is the founding of BiomedBooster BV, a company that will find commercial applications for research findings in the life sciences. BiomedBooster is drawing up business plans and seeking pre-seed capital. The project is being co-financed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Province of Limburg. Health Cure in the Randwijck district provides another excellent link with the Health Care industry in the Limburg Downs countryside. Among the possibilities are new, innovative tourist care facilities and products. Vodafone intends to work with a commercial provider of health care holidays for senior citizens and with tourist businesses in the countryside on laying a high-density UMTS network. Such a network will make it possible to offer tailor-made care (knowing who is where at all times) and allow the care provider to develop its business more effectively (which care is provided to whom and when).
Acceleration Agenda Projects
The following acceleration projects have been identified within the "Health Care & Cure" cluster:
1. Biomedical Materials
This area is important in retaining niche markets in the chemicals sector for the Limburg region. There is a great deal of knowledge available on performance materials in this area. DSM wants to deploy the competence in the area in an open program of innovation to develop new businesses in this sector. There is to be an ongoing focus in pure and applied research in biomedical materials.
2. CTMM
The focus of the Center for Translational Molecular Medicine (CTMM), which involves Maastricht University, the university hospital (azM), Phillips, the Eindhoven University of Technology and Organon, is to be on combating cardiovascular disease, chronic disease and cancer. There will also be a focus on neuroscience, and research on nutrition. The sector in the Netherlands, and knowledge institutions are invited to join this program. The basic idea behind CTMM is to identify symptoms of diseases at an early stage and to identify them using markers. In the long run this means it will be possible to respond more rapidly.
3. INTACT
INTACT intends to profit from research in the areas of cell therapy, tissue engineering, stem cell research and materials technology. The culturing of heart cells in the GMP cell culturing facility at the BioPartner Center Maastricht will mean that these cells will be cultured and will be able to develop into new tissue.
4. Cell Therapy Institute
Cell therapy means the production of cells which are cultured or altered in the lab and then implanted in the patient to restore health. This is highly specialized care and is only available at special care centers and requires highly specialized labs and technicians. Currently cell therapy is being deployed in hematology/oncology in the area of cardiovascular disease.
The Limburg region intends to become an internationally recognized center of expertise in both oncology and cardiovascular studies. The ingredients for success in this region are already present with the university hospital (azM) and Pharmacell.
5. Medical Tourism
The internationalization of care is an important development in the health care sector. The concept has been introduced into the Netherlands by Cygenics. Using the municipality of Valkenburg as the point of departure, it provides patients with the best options of recovery and post-treatment care in Limburg.
6. Toxicogenomics
Toxicogenomics tempts to show the direct relationship between the toxicity of chemicals and DNA. This is rapid and efficient and does not require animal experiments. The toxicity of pharmaceutical, industrial chemicals and cosmetics can be determined using a screening facility. Profiles can be developed which will show which genes respond positively or negatively to which chemicals. In addition to the screening facility the University of Maastricht, under the contract of the NTC has been commissioned to develop a business plan in which a research program is to be developed for the coming period to match developments in the business world.
7. Particle Therapy Centre
A number of parties are actively perusing the completion of a radiotherapy centre. This centre will provide new forms of radiation therapy which have shown promise in treating tumors by making use of iontherapy. The application of new developments in the radiotherapeutic treatment of cancer will take place in the particle therapy centre. This will be a center of excellence for the treatment of cancer and be used by an estimated 2,000 patients annually for clinical, physical, and biological research and training for new radiotherapy treatments.
8. Health Science Campus Randwyck (Biopartner Center Maastricht)
The Randwyck Health Science Campus is to be a center, bubbling with activity, a focus of energy in the world of the life sciences, homing in on research, education; but, above all, on new business. The project is concerned with developing the investment potential for the life sciences, where these companies can flourish and produce new jobs. The combination of knowledge institutions in a large number of innovative groups will lead to major developments on the knowledge side and will add value to the new knowledge.
9. The Communication Chain in Care
Another focus will be to develop and deploy an integrated transmural primary concept for the communication chain between primary and specialized health care (Hospitals, GPs, pharmacists, insurers). The communication chain in care will make a contribution to the
development of new product-market combinations in the care sector.
10. Clinical Trial Center Maastricht
Before new medications can be introduced onto the market or new therapies developed, they are extensively tested and validated. Maastricht's azM and Aachen Klinikum, both university hospitals, are currently carrying out clinical studies for clients. These activities are carried out by the Clinical Trial Centre Maastricht, an independent department of the azM university hospital. The goal is to set up a major professional Clinical Trial Center with a number of strategic partners. This Euroregional center which intends to link hospitals in Heerlen, Sittard, Roermond and the Maastro clinic too, will provide structural support to the initiating parties to enable the correct deployment of clinical studies, both in terms of content and procedure.
11. Biological Engineering
The area of biological engineering is concerned with the use of cells or parts of cells for medical purposes. For example, the use of cells as carrier material from which new tissue can be grown (tissue engineering), also the use of cells in therapeutic treatment to develop cancer vaccines. The idea of a Bachelor's degree in biological engineering is based on the developments taking place in the region, in the area of tissue engineering and autologous cell therapy. The Bachelor's degree is important in providing qualified staff for the future.
12. Medical Field Lab for Personalized Medical Products
This medical field lab is a creative place of employment in a hospital settin, where partners can work on solutions and/or products. On the basis of a regional network of companies and knowledge institutions, technicians, scientists and medical specialists can rapidly combine knowledge and skills and apply them to specific life-science cases. Activities in the medical field lab target market-oriented products relating to health, where economic and scientific values are a sign of knowledge and skill.
13. Preclinical Molecular Imaging (azM)
Maastricht Radiation Oncology (Maastro clinic) and the Growth and Development research clinic (GROW) of the University of Maastricht and the hospital (azM) want to jointly acquire a micro CT-PET scanner. This scanner will allow them to build a bridge between preclinical knowledge at a molecular level and clinical trials with new markers.
14. High Quality Market and Sales Organization for Cancer Medication
MUbio has developed new immunotherapies (lung cancer vaccines) and medications to improve the life expectancy and the quality of life of cancer patients. One of the biggest biotech companies in India has given MUbio the option of an exclusive distribution agreement for the sale of their cytostatics in Europe. MUbio wants to set up a high quality and competitive marketing and sales organization for these products.
15. Path-Breaking Monitoring
At the present time, around 30 operations are carried out annually on the abdominal artery at the azM. 75 Operations are carried out on the carotid artery and all of these are subject to neuromonitoring by the department of clinical neurophysiology. In this, ongoing checks are made, but the specialist does not have to remain permanently in the OR for this purpose. Recently similar vascular operations have been carried out at Aachen's university hospital. The department of clinical neurophysiology at the university hospital in Maastricht is expected to deploy the required neuromonitoring service for these operations too. 10 Operations on the abdominal artery have been successfully monitored thus far. And so a start has already been made on this neuromonitoring system. The next step is to monitor these operations in Maastricht when they are being carried out in Aachen. This will allow expertise available locally in Maastricht to be used in other places, which will have a role on the cost effectiveness and quality of the procedure. In the longer term, there will be broader applications in the Euroregion, including at Atrium Medical Centre in Heerlen.
16. Research Booster
Increasingly, faculties and institutes appear to have achieved their best as far as matching options are concerned. The preparations for the TTIs and MTIs are less ambitious than they should or could be, in view of the internal reserves and in view of the risk and matching obligations. It can be assumed that the University of Maastricht has an imperative need for a booster to increase the volume of good research. The research booster is designed to be the instrument to facilitate the required research boost and also a business-like approach to the acquisition of contract research.
17. Health Care Regulation without Borders
Maastricht's university hospital (azM) wants to achieve far-reaching cooperation with its counterpart in Aachen. In their cooperative activities, the parties increasingly encounter regulations that make it difficult to provide patients across borders with high quality care. Furthermore, current legislation and regulations would have a restrictive influence when care facilities are linked in future. A proactive approach to future legislation and regulations is a requirement.
See the link for details:
www.versnellingsagenda.nl
You are receiving this
newsletter because we believe the contents will be of interest
to you.
We endeavor to ensure that our information is correct but do not accept any liability for
errors or omissions. You may make copies for your personal use; but should acknowledge the
source whenever material is copied or published.
Contact us
If you have any relevant news to share or wish to send comments, please e-mail Stafford
Wadsworth, editor@meuse-rhine-journal.com
at Meuse-Rhine Journal
or send a fax to +(31)(0) 43-4098899.
WADSWORTH & WADSWORTH ASSOCIATES, CONSULTANTS
for web content, PR, business journalism, specialist translation, audio, video and live
presentations. |
