Heart BioSystems GmbH
Protection and regeneration of the heart
Heart BioSystems GmbH was founded in 2002 by scientists around Prof. Dr. Reinhard Kandolf of the University of Tübingen.
Jan-Heiner Küpper, Dr., CEO
Stefan Holder, CFO
Reinhard Kandolf, MD, PhD
Harald zur Hausen, MD
Axel Haverich, MD
Christian Herdeg, MD
Im Neuenheimer Feld 583
69120 Heidelberg
Germany
Phone: +49-6221-43807-70
Fax: +49-6221-43807-90
The technologies are based on adult stem cells which are withdrawn from the bone marrow of the patients. The heart-specific vector technology developed by Heart BioSystems allows the differentiation of adult stem cells in cardiomyocytes.
Proprietary “Proliferation ON/OFF” technology is used to cultivate as many cells as possible in vitro in order to compensate the loss of heart muscle cells. The operating surgeon can then transplant these cells directly into the heart muscle. Since the cells stem from the patient him/herself, they are not rejected by the immune system and can lead to the regeneration of the heart.
With the development of AutoCard™ (Heart muscle regeneration through the transplantation of therapeutic cells) Heart BioSystems hopes to have found a method that allows the genuine treatment of patients who suffered from cardiac infarction or suffer from myocardial insufficiency. With this product, heart transplantation will not become necessary, and the enormous expenditures and the high risk that is involved in organ transplantation or pharmaceutical treatment can be drastically reduced. Heart BioSystems hopes to enter a strategic cooperation with a pharmaceutical and medical technology company in order to further develop and market AutoCard™.
The strategies of Heart Biosystems are based on antisense technology and apoptosis. Two antisense biomolecules were developed which inhibit the division of the smooth muscle cells in the artery walls. The molecules Prevento™ #230 und Prevento™ #1180 enhance each other and in joint effort lead to the almost 100% suppression of cell proliferation. Using a specific application system, developed with nanotechnological methods, these antisense molecules act directly on the smooth muscle cells and hence prevent restenosis. Heart BioSystems intends to enter into a strategic partnership to develop a stent that is covered with Prevento™ .
Existing strictures of vessels might possibly be treated with SensoTrans™. This is a recombinant fusion protein that specifically recognises the profusely proliferating smooth muscle cells and induces programmed cell death, apoptosis. It has also the potential to be used for the treatment of other diseases (e.g. cancer therapy).
The following section contains a selection of the company’s most relevant patents. For comprehensive patent information please refer to the espacenet databases.