News
50 Years of Cutting-Edge Research - IKP impresses with trailblazing achievements
Tailored drug therapy for patients: The Dr. Margarete Fischer-Bosch Institute of Clinical Pharmacology (IKP) in Stuttgart has been doing pioneering work in the fields of personalized medicine and pharmacogenomics for 50 years. Researchers investigate the influence of genes on the effect of drugs and develop new therapeutic approaches. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary, scientists from all over the world will meet in Stuttgart at a symposium on September 7.
With the help of cutting-edge technology and new methods, the IKP improves drug therapy and enables tailored precision medicine for patients.
The Dr. Margarete Fischer-Bosch Institute of Clinical Pharmacology (IKP) in Stuttgart has been doing trailblazing work in the fields of personalized medicine and pharmacogenomics for 50 years. Researchers investigate the influence of genes on the effect of drugs and develop new therapeutic approaches. With more than 70 employees, it is the largest research institution in the field of clinical pharmacology in Germany.
One of IKP’s most recent successes is the TAMENDOX project: The institute is presently developing a new drug to improve therapy with the breast cancer drug tamoxifen, which has been around for more than 40 years. The objective is to reduce the risk of recurrence in breast cancer patients. Breast cancer patients’ individual genetic makeup influences the therapy with tamoxifen. By taking the genetic makeup into account, the new form of the drug is expected to optimize therapy for affected patients.
Individual genetic makeup also influences the increased or decreased potency of many other drugs – or triggers undesirable side effects. That is why IKP has developed a so-called “DNA medication passport”. For this purpose, the genome of new patients is examined for 50 gene variants that influence 39 frequently used drugs. The results, which apply for life, are stored in an app as a medication passport. This way, doctors can customize their therapies. In a high-profile study published in the Lancet journal in spring 2023, researchers at IKP, in cooperation with an international team, were able to demonstrate that the medication passport can reduce side effects in patients by 30 percent. The DNA medication passport is currently only standard in Germany, at the Robert Bosch Hospital.
“Our task is to provide knowledge to the clinic at an early stage, giving the appropriate evidence, and thereby improving drug therapy for patients,” says Prof. Dr. Matthias Schwab, head of IKP, “We are service providers for people.”
Name giver of the IKP, eldest daughter of Robert Bosch and natural scientist: Dr. Margarete Fischer-Bosch founded the Institute of Clinical Pharmacology in Stuttgart in 1973.
From research to practice
As joint institutions of the Bosch Health Campus, the Dr. Margarete Fischer-Bosch Institute of Clinical Pharmacology and the Robert Bosch Hospital cooperate closely. In this way, scientific findings flow directly into patient therapy. “With IKP as an established and internationally-renowned research institute, we can actively live translation at the Bosch Health Campus,” says Prof. Dr. Mark Dominik Alscher, managing director of the Bosch Health Campus, “because by closely integrating research and treatment, we bring scientific findings directly into practice, faster than other research institutions.”
Leading global research institutes such as Karolinska University in Sweden, Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands, and St. Jude's Children's Hospital in the U.S. are long-standing collaboration partners of IKP. In Germany, the Institute is represented in numerous network consortia. In 2023, it became part of the new site of the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) SouthWest.
On September 7, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary, IKP will be holding a symposium in line with the motto of “From Bench to Bedside - Personalized Medicine as Key to Targeted Therapy”. Both national and international scientists have been invited, such as the renowned US physician and pharmacologist, Prof. Dr. Dan Roden, and the Chairman of the Board of Charité Berlin, Prof. Dr. Heyo Kroemer.
The research building 2007 and 2023.
The research institute was founded in 1973 as a result of a donation from Dr. Margarete Fischer-Bosch, the eldest daughter of Robert Bosch. On the recommendation of Adolf Butenandt, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, she set her sights on clinical pharmacology as a research direction. A natural scientist herself, Margarete Fischer-Bosch also wanted to place people more at the center of pharmacological research.
Eindrücke vom Fachsymposium
Fachsymposium unter dem Motto „From Bench to Bedside – Personalized Medicine as Key to Targeted Therapy“
Institutsleiter Prof. Matthias Schwab begrüßt die Speaker:innen aus aller Welt
Dr. Christof Bosch, Sprecher der Familie Bosch und Neffe der IKP-Gründerin Dr. Margarete Fischer-Bosch, gratuliert dem Institut zum Jubiläum
Renommierte Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler aus der ganzen Welt kamen zum Fachsymposium in Stuttgart zusammen
Prof. Juliane Walz vom Uniklinikum Tübingen hält einen Vortrag zum Thema Peptidbasierte Immuntherapie
Dr. Ute Leidig, Staatssekretärin im Ministerium für Soziales, Gesundheit und Integration (links) im Gespräch mit Dr. Bernhard Straub, Geschäftsführer der Robert Bosch Stiftung (rechts) und Moderatorin und Medizinjournalistin Dr. Astrid Viciano