New Chairman to Spearhead Developments at SPECTARIS


Dr Bernhard Ohnesorge, Managing Director of Carl Zeiss Jena, was elected as the new Chairman of the German Industry Association SPECTARIS, during its Annual General Meeting in Berlin, September 11. He succeeds Ulrich Krauss, former CEO of Analytik Jena.


Mirjam Rösch, Commercial Director DACH and Managing Director at Hoya Lens Germany and chair of consumer optics (ophthalmic optics) at SPECTARIS, was elected as Deputy Chair. In addition, Amily Guo (Drägerwerk) was elected as the new chairwoman of the Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein regional group. She succeeds Inga Kuhls (also Dräger).


Ohnesorge summarised his priorities for the future work of the association: “We need better political conditions and to this end we must continue to expand our lobbying work in times of excessive regulation. Our member companies need to be supported above all in recruiting skilled workers and in doing business globally under geopolitical risks.”


The network across the four SPECTARIS industries - Consumer Optics, Photonics, Medical Technology and Analytical, Bio and Laboratory Technology are also to be further strengthened, with Ohnesorge relinquishing his former role as Head of Photonics, in order to devote himself fully to his new role as chairman.


For the fi rst time, the association bundled its annual industry days, the evening annual reception and the general meeting into a SPECTARIS future festival held on 11th September, where a new medical technology competence network, supported by ten renowned management consultancies with different consulting focuses and medical technology was launched.


“Skilled labour shortages, investment backlogs, digitalisation and ever-increasing regulatory requirements: the medical technology industry is undergoing unprecedented change. Current standard recipes for overcoming these challenges are no longer suffi cient to remain internationally competitive. In order not to lose orientation in everyday company life, it is crucial to benefi t from the success recipes of the best,” emphasised SPECTARIS managing director Jörg Mayer. “For this reason we launched the competence network. Our members receive aggregated top knowledge for their decisions. ‘Learn from the best’ is the motto of our new network.”


More information online: ilmt.co/PL/Lexb 61223pr@reply-direct.com


From left to right: Amily Guo, Dr Bernhard Ohnesorge and Mirjam Rösch. (Credit: Spectaris)


Consortium Awards Second Contract for Biopsy Diagnostics


project team was able to progress rapidly and lay the foundations for a sophisticated and multifarious concept that will enable a new level of liquid biopsy diagnostics. The award of the phase 2 contract now enables us to intensify the efforts of our industry leading experts and we can look forward to the created concepts advancing to effective solutions.”


Tommi Kaasalainen Istvan Petak


A partnership comprising software company Euformatics, ViennaLab Diagnostics and Oncompass Medicine, have been awarded with one of three Phase 2 contracts to research and develop an economically sustainable liquid biopsy diagnostics solution based on DNA and RNA molecular profi ling in cancer patients for a buyer consortium including some of the highest ranking European hospitals [1] from Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Belgium for the OncNGS pre-commercial procurement Consortium funded by the EU.


OncNGS aims to improve cancer patients’ lives through development of novel molecular DNA/RNA analysis and profi ling of tumour-derived material in liquid biopsies using a pan-cancer tumour marker analysis kit combined with a bioinformatics decision support system including the analytical test interpretation and


Martin Zeppetzauer


clinical oncology reporting. Phase 2 contracts started in September 2023 after completion of Phase 1 during the fi rst half of 2023 and evaluation of tender responses during the summer. The overall pre- commercial procurement will span across three competing phases and will run until 2026 with a total contract value of 7 million euros.


Tommi Kaasalainen, CEO of Euformatics, a global leader in NGS data quality control and variant interpretation said: “We had great collaboration with ViennaLab and Oncompass during Phase 1, so I was confi dent that we had good chances of progressing to the next phase of the project. The technical requirements in the oncNGS program are super tough but fortunately we have a world class team in our companies to tackle them. Looking forward to delivering a high- performing liquid biopsy kit and bioinformatics pipeline to the buyers.”


Martin Zeppetzauer, CEO of ViennaLab, added: “During phase 1 the


Professor Dr Istvan Petak, Founder and CEO of Oncompass Medicine, concluded; “As we embark on Phase 2 of this pivotal project, our collective mission remains crystal clear: to unlock precision medicine’s full potential in the fi ght against cancer. With ViennaLab’s unrivaled profi ciency in wet lab techniques and Euformatics’s excellence in dry lab analytics, our triad of expertise is poised to decipher the intricate molecular landscape, guiding us to bespoke cancer therapies. Together, we’re proud to lead the way in precision oncology, including rapid liquid biopsy analysis, offering hope to countless patients in need.”


The Phase 2 of the pre-commercial procurement will be completed within 12 months. Awarded R&D providers in Phase 3 will integrate their solution to the buyers’ environment and demonstrate clinical performance and analytical validity such as assay performance to examine accuracy, precision and specifi city of the workfl ow results.


1. oncNGS procurement consortium is formed by oncology medical centers from the Sciensano and Institut Jules Bordet in Belgium, stitut Curie and Hospices Covils de Lyon in France, Charite Universtaetsmedizin and Ludwig Maximilians Universtaet Muenchen in Germany, Alleanza Contro il Cancro in Italy, and Institut Catala d’Oncolo.


More information online: ilmt.co/PL/Y1Z9 61337pr@reply-direct.com


Transatlantic Mission to Advance Space Tech


The UK Space Agency is providing funding for a UK/US research project for development of electric propulsion technology – specifi cally Hall effect thrusters - as a key technology enabler for spacecraft.


The partnership brings together the expertise of the leading University research centre in Hall thrusters in the USA -the Plasma dynamics and Electric Propulsion Lab at the University of Michigan - with leading Hall Thruster companies Pulsar Fusion (UK) & Starlight Engines (US), along the University of Southampton (UK).


NASA has identifi ed a strategic need over the next decade for electric propulsion, in particular in the fi eld of high-power electric propulsion and propellants.


Hall thrusters are fi nding application in a vast array of different spacecraft missions, including geostationary satellites and interplanetary missions. This includes robotic rendezvous missions such as those developed by Northrop Grumman and Astroscale, in particular for spacecraft de-orbiting and interplanetary missions such as the Lunar Gateway Space Station and the NASA Psyche mission.


Until now, there has been no such collaborations between the UK and USA on Hall thruster research and the new partnership will enable


the UK to benefi t from world-leading US research and development.


The project will be funded from the fi rst phase of the UK Space Agency’s £20 million International Bilateral Fund. It is the second project awarded to Pulsar Fusion by the UKSA(1)


Pulsar Fusion CEO Richard Dinan said: “As a manufacturer of space engines, there are regulatory challenges in being based in the UK, but England does have a fantastic talent pool and our scientists deserve to be at the forefront of these emerging technologies.


“This is another key US partnership for Pulsar - we continue to pursue best-in-class innovation, and this is particularly exciting given the global commercial interest in these engines. Following last month’s announcement of our work with Princeton Satellite Systems, we remain optimistic that companies like Pulsar can continue to advance our technologies whilst remaining in the UK with access to unparalleled scientifi c resources.”


More information online: ilmt.co/PL/OpwB 61351pr@reply-direct.com


Richard Dinan


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