ETH News

A new computer process developed by chemists at ETH Zurich makes it possible to generate active pharmaceutical ingredients quickly and easily based on a protein’s three-dimensional surface. The new process could revolutionise drug research.

ETH researchers have teamed up with Kantonsspital Baden to find ways of preventing patients from becoming dependent on opioid painkillers.

If the body’s natural stress response gets knocked off balance, it can result in physical and mental health disorders. Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed an agent capable of selectively inhibiting this response.

On the road to recovery, patients come into contact with clinicians from a whole range of disciplines. The importance of targeted collaboration between these disciplines is something medical students learn early on at ETH Zurich.

ETH Zurich researchers have shown for the first time that microvehicles can be steered through blood vessels in the brains of mice using ultrasound. They hope that this will eventually lead to treatments capable of delivering drugs with pinpoint precision.

A new AI model developed by chemists at ETH Zurich can not only predict where a pharmaceutically active molecule can be chemically modified, but also how best to do it. This makes it possible to identify new pharmaceutical ingredients more quickly and improve existing ones in a targeted manner.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have now shown that a previously unknown protein plays a key role in a congenital malformation of the heart. Their findings point the way towards new treatment options.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a suction cup that allows medications to be absorbed through the mucosal lining of the cheeks. This new approach could spare millions of patients the pain and fear associated with injections.

ETH Zurich and Roche are joining forces in Basel to advance the development of new methods that facilitate the search for medicines. Together, they will train specialists for the biomedical challenges of our time.

Computer simulations have helped researchers understand in detail how pharmaceutically active substances cross cell membranes. These findings can now be used to discover new drug candidates more efficiently.

Researchers at ETH have shown that cases of opioid poisoning and the prescription of opioids have increased sharply in Switzerland over the past 20 years. Although the situation is not as serious as in North America, the risk should not be underestimated.

Researchers from ETH Zurich, University Hospital of Bern and the University of Bern have equipped gut bacteria with data logger functionality as a way of monitoring which genes are active in the bacteria. These microorganisms could one day offer a noninvasive means of diagnosing disease or assessing the impact of a diet on health.

ETH pharmaceutical sciences graduate Nicole Stoffel has shown that iron deficiency reduces vaccine efficacy. Her research is now helping to improve the health of children in developing countries – yet becoming a researcher was not originally part of her plans.

Tom Edwardson modified a tiny artificial protein structure so it could be used as a vehicle for RNA molecules and other active substances. He now aims to create a spin-off to bring his development to market.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a cell culture test to detect substances that are directly or indirectly harmful to embryos. Based on an existing test used for developing new drugs and chemicals, the augmented version is designed to help reduce the number of animal experiments.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is able to recognise the biological activity of natural products in a targeted manner, as researchers at ETH Zurich have demonstrated. Moreover, AI helps to find molecules that have the same effect as a natural substance but are easier to manufacture. This opens up huge possibilities for drug discovery, which also have potential to rewrite the rulebook for pharmaceutical research.

SARS-CoV-2 is critically dependent on a special mechanism for the production of its proteins. A collaborative team led by a research group at ETH Zurich obtained molecular insights into this process and demonstrated that it can be inhibited by chemical compounds, thereby significantly reducing viral replication in infected cells.

Novel nanoparticles developed by researchers at ETH Zurich and Empa detect multi-resistant bacteria hiding in body cells and kill them. The scientists' goal is to develop an antibacterial agent that is effective where conventional antibiotics remain ineffective.

Machine learning methods help to optimise the development of antibody drugs. This leads to active substances with improved properties, also with regard to tolerability in the body.

An extraordinary year is drawing to a close. ETH News takes a look back at the highlights that emerged amidst difficult and unsettling times, at ingenious ideas, fascinating science and solidarity in action during – and despite – the coronavirus pandemic.

In 2003, the painkiller paracetamol (acetaminophen) became available in Switzerland in tablets with a higher dose of the active ingredient. This correlates with an increase in cases of paracetamol poisoning in the country, as a data analysis by ETH researchers shows.

A large study shows that preventive treatment of children with antimalarial drugs reduces clinical malaria and anaemia in sub-Saharan Africa.

Researchers at ETH Zurich – in collaboration with colleagues from EPFL in Lausanne and Harvard Medical School – have developed a system that allows them to optically stimulate individual nerve fibres in living mice. Through this process, they have demonstrated that the nervous system has a direct influence on the immune system.

Artificial intelligence is having a growing impact on our daily lives and is also revolutionising research. ETH Zurich recognises its responsibility in this area and is striving to promote innovation and trust in this fast-evolving technology.

ETH Zurich scientists have developed an RNA molecule that can be used in bone marrow cells to correct genetic errors that affect protein production. Patients suffering from a rare hereditary disease that causes a painful hypersensitivity to sunlight could benefit in future.

Whether or not patients will respond to a drug can be determined in advance. In this way, side effects can be avoided and patients benefit, writes Ernst Hafen.

In the latest round of prestigious ERC Advanced Grants, ETH Zurich has secured two of the awards – one in the area of biology and the other in pharmacy. The grants will see ETH receive around 5.16 million Swiss francs in funding.

The coronavirus outbreak has made solidarity more important than ever. Pharmacy students, for example, are getting involved and offering pharmacies a helping hand. The new “pharmadelivery” platform enables pharmacies to connect quickly with students who are eager to help.

The calcification of blood vessels and other soft tissues is problematic. Researchers at ETH Zurich and ETH spin-off Inositec have discovered a substance that prevents vascular calcification.

Nowadays there are numerous ways of finding and working with scientific data and information. It’s up to libraries to teach these skills, writes Oliver Renn.

ETH researchers have combined embryonic cells and liver cells in a new cell culture test. This combination lets them detect adverse effects that new medications may have on embryos early on in the drug development process.

Scientists in the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering at ETH Zurich in Basel have developed a method with which they can quickly test a very large number of molecules for antibiotic effect. With it, they have already successfully discovered new antibiotic candidates produced by microorganisms. In the future, they will use their new technology to examine soil samples and the microbiome on human skin for medically useful microorganisms.

About ten percent of all cancer patients suffer from lymphoedema, which produces swelling in the legs, arms and breasts. The ETH start-up Dicronis has developed an instrument for simple and early diagnosis of this medical condition. The young entrepreneurs behind the concept have been nominated for the ZKB Pioneer Prize.

Using artificial intelligence in drug design would give pharmaceutical research a boost, says Gisbert Schneider. In the medium term, computers could even carry out experiments autonomously.

If the federal popular initiative for a blanket ban on animal testing succeeds, drug development in Switzerland would become virtually impossible, ETH Vice President Detlef Günther believes.

Research findings based on HeLa cells cannot always be reproduced by other scientists. To get to the bottom of this lack of reproducibility, a group of system biologists working with ETH Professor Ruedi Aebersold has embarked on a massive project: molecular cell measurement.

Researchers at ETH Zurich recently demonstrated that platinum nanoparticles can be used to kill liver cancer cells with greater selectivity than existing cancer drugs.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have used trials with mice to shed light on signalling pathways that lead to thickened and less elastic blood vessels. They have developed a treatment approach for pregnant women with previously untreatable preeclampsia.

Assistant Professor Andrea Burden investigates the safety of medications to improve patient care. For her research, the scientist also uses her expertise in criminology.

Lymphatic vessels actively contribute to the spread of cancer metastases from various organs. This unexpected realisation is the result of a joint study by researchers from ETH Zurich and the University Hospital Zurich as part of the research initiative Skintegrity.

A new substance makes particular molecules in the brain visible using imaging, enabling better research into brain diseases.

ETH researchers have developed a method to examine millions of potential self-produced drug candidates in one go.

A research team led by microbiologist Tomas de Wouters has won the Spark Award 2018 for the development of artificial intestinal flora. With their ETH spin-off Pharmabiome, the scientists want to further develop their invention so that it can be used in the treatment of inflammatory intestinal diseases and infections.

There is no single main reason why certain drugs affect people differently, but rather many small factors. ETH researchers demonstrated this with a model system. They believe that, in order to test the effectiveness of certain drugs, it is necessary to look at the biological system as a whole.

Philosophy of science in medical research: pharmacy students are learning how theory, methods and experiments affect scientific results and how to assess the significance of the results.

When the bacterial ecosystem in the intestine is out of balance, there often is no other remedy than a faecal microbiota transplant. Due to the risks of this procedure, researchers from the ETH spin-off PharmaBiome are developing a safe alternative.

Medical researchers often only focus on a single disease. As older people often suffer from multiple diseases at the same time, however, we need to rethink this approach, writes Ralph Müller.

An international team led by ETH researchers has developed a technique that uses electrical brain signals to more precisely evaluate the effect of drugs on the brain. It could be of particular use in the early development phase of anti-epilepsy medication.

Martin Fussenegger is convinced that the digital world in which we live will become interlinked with the biological world. He envisages that we will be able to cure diseases with electronic pills in the next 50 years.

At the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Irene Pereira de Sousa is researching new ways to administer medicines orally. Currently, many substances can only be introduced into the body via painful injections. It is her aim to change that.

The use of immunotherapy to treat cancer is celebrating its first successes – but there are still many knowledge gaps in the underlying mechanisms of action. In a study of mice with soft tissue tumours, ETH researchers have now shown how endogenous killer cells track down the tumours with the help of dormant viruses.

The ETH spinoff MaxWell Biosystems AG develops microelectrode platforms for electrophysiological tests on nerve cells, opening up new possibilities for pharmaceutical research. Now, the company received CHF 130,000 in starting capital from the Venture Kick initiative

ETH microbiologists have succeeded in showing that nature produces one of the most complex known bioactive natural products in a staggeringly simple way. The molecule originates from bacteria living in sea sponges. In future, it may be possible to produce the agent very easily using biotechnology, making it an interesting avenue for cancer research.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a new cell culture method, which may very well enable to forgo certain tests on animals in the future. The scientists were awarded an international prize for more humane treatment of laboratory animals.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a new marker substance for positron emission tomography (PET) that will allow them to monitor the progression of the degenerative muscle disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in a patient’s brain.

A Nobel prizewinning idea bears entrepreneurial fruit: an ETH Pioneer Fellow is applying knowledge about G-protein-coupled receptors to market a novel process for testing drugs.

Colon cancer cells that are pretreated with an ingredient found in cruciferous vegetables are more likely to be killed by a cancer drug that is currently in development, found ETH scientists. This is one of only a few examples of a food ingredient that, in moderate amounts, has a positive influence on the efficacy of a cancer drug.

In patients with heart failure, the pumping power of the heart decreases in a fatal downward spiral. Pharmacologists at ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich have now succeeded in breaking this vicious circle in the mouse model. Their approach could one day also benefit humans.

The ETH-Zurich spin-offs Versantis and Adaptricity are heralding the beginning of a new era of detoxification methods and managing power systems. The two fledgling companies reached the third and final round of the competition Venture Kick. Both spin-offs received CHF 130,000 each in seed capital.

ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich are founding a new translational research centre at the interface of medicine, science and engineering: the Wyss Translational Center Zurich. A USD 120 million donation from Dr. h.c. mult. Hansjörg Wyss to the two Zurich universities is making this possible. Through an interdisciplinary approach, the new centre aims to accelerate the development and application of innovative medical therapies and groundbreaking robotic systems.