Research at the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut
Research activities at the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut (PEI) focus on the areas of medicine and the life sciences in which Nobel Prize winner Paul Ehrlich carried out his groundbreaking work at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. At that time he dealt with questions in both fundamental and applied research, such as the theory of antibody formation and determining the efficacy of antisera. In 1899 the "Institute for Serum Research and Testing" moved from Berlin to Frankfurt am Main, where it was renamed the "Royal Institute for Experimental Therapy". Today’s PEI is the direct successor to the Frankfurt institute.
From its earliest days the PEI has concerned itself with scientific questions in the field of biological medicinal products, for which it is the competent testing agency. These medicinal products include vaccines for human and veterinary use, immunobiological and biotechnological medicinal products, blood products, cell therapy medicinal products and, since August 2005, tissue.
Topics of Research
Research at the PEI is in general externally funded. It focuses in particular on the following topics:
- the safety and efficacy of biological medicinal products
- viral gene transfer and cell therapy
- host interactions with pathogens and retroelements
- pathogen-induced immune activation and evasion
- immunobiology of allergens
Research Goals
The overall goals of research at the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut are:
- to contribute, by means of research relating to medicinal products and active substances, to guaranteeing and improving the quality, efficacy and safety of biological medicinal products in Europe;
- to further strengthen the PEI as a centre of excellence within the network of European agencies for the marketing authorisation of medicinal products;
- to provide competent expert advice to health policy decision-makers on issues relating to biomedicine;
- to expand its expertise in the assessment and experimental testing of biological medicinal products by means of internationally recognised research;
- to ensure an outstanding level of knowledge and technical expertise of personnel and to intensify the national and international exchange of ideas and concepts with regard to both applied and fundamental research;
- to create a climate of scientific excellence at the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut and to further increase its attractiveness as a workplace.
Wherever possible, our research aims at reducing the number of animal experiments or the number of animals required for the batch testing and analysis of medicinal products.
Areas of future research will take into account current developments, for example novel therapeutic strategies based on the use of somatic or embryonic stem cells. Furthermore, research activities will be stepped up in relation to the risk assessment of newly emerging infectious diseases and the problem of intentionally released infectious agents. Moreover, research should aim at an ongoing validation of introduced procedures and the development of new methods and new scientific concepts.
