Flexible start for companies on the outskirts of the capital

“The funding landscape in Brandenburg is attractive for start-ups,” Piwowarczyk explains this step, “there is noticeable interest in settling here and we have received good advice and a lot of support from the local economic development agency. We are also pleased that the location is well connected in terms of transport.”

Rehabilitation exercises with the digital therapy companion

The business idea for the telemedical assistance system MeineReha® came from Fraunhofer FOKUS. In 2018, the team received an award from the BMWi in the start-up competition – Digital Innovations. During the same period, a clinical study was conducted with the University of Potsdam, which proves the effectiveness of the system. The founders have big plans for the coming months: from the end of 2020, the e-health product is to be approved as a prescription rehabilitation and prevention measure for the healthcare market.

“We have implemented a rehabilitation system for targeted movement therapy. Patients can use it to perform movement exercises on an inpatient, outpatient basis or at home and receive individual feedback. The special thing about it is that we use televisions or mobile phones as digital therapy companions. Compared to conventional therapies, this makes us completely independent of opening hours, appointments or the patient’s place of residence,” explains Anne Grohnert. The system currently has about 100 exercises for cardio, lumbar and cervical spine training as well as programs for knee and hip problems or balance disorders. The movement sequences of the patients are optically recorded and analyzed using 3D sensor technology. If the balance is shaky, the joints are bent too far or a stretch occurs at an incorrect angle, the patient is corrected directly by the system.

Piwowarczyk, Grohnert and team are working specifically on solutions for the digitization of the healthcare system for the benefit of patients and healthcare workers. This is also because there is a shortage of skilled workers in Germany, especially in the rehabilitation sector. “Especially in rural regions like Brandenburg, we can use digital products to improve people’s health care and relieve the burden on overburdened practices,” says Anne Grohnert, “That’s why we are focusing strongly on optimizing processes in the healthcare system at the same time with the digitization of therapy content.” In the coming months, the start-up will be looking for business angels and investors to expand the structure. In cooperation with clinics and other technology partners in the region, the launch is then to take place.

Nanolytics investigates biomolecules and nanoparticles

At the GO:IN Golm Innovation Center, the company is in good company. Directly opposite the Startup Space are the offices and laboratories of Nanolytics. Since 2006, Managing Director Dr. Kristian Schilling has been conducting investigations on biomolecules and nanoparticles for customers from the pharmaceutical and chemical industries here in the Science Park with a small team of experts.

The company moved to Potsdam-Golm in 2006. “We first had our laboratories in an old building in Dallgow-Döberitz,” reports Schilling, “there we had to improvise in many respects in order to carry out physico-chemical work in rooms that were not designed for it. For example, the windowless vault of the former savings bank served as a dark laboratory for our scattering measurements. In 2006, we learned about the construction of the GO:IN in Potsdam-Golm. Due to the laboratory infrastructure, we were able to use the premises here immediately with minimal investment.”

What many people don’t know is that in addition to chemistry, the physical arrangement of the ingredients also plays an important role in medicines. “Whether a molecule occurs individually or as a “double pack” can (for example) make a world of difference to the effect of drugs. Pharmaceutical companies therefore need to know very precisely in what form the active ingredient molecules are present and how they then act in drugs,” says Schilling, explaining the relevance of his research.

For example, researchers can prevent drugs from triggering allergies or immune reactions. The method of choice for the analysis of the active ingredient molecules is analytical ultracentrifugation. The liquids to be examined are subjected to a rotation of up to 60,000 revolutions per minute in a powerful centrifuge, which is 250,000 times the acceleration due to gravity. Due to the immense centrifugal forces, even the smallest molecules and particles separate in this process according to size, shape, mass and density, which is then observed with optical systems. Within its niche, the company has now gained worldwide recognition and is also successfully developing measuring instruments and methodology.

download PNN special supplement to the Potsdam Science Park from 21.09.2019 here

Foto: Martin Jehnichen