News

The "Joint ForTra–BIH Workshop on Gene and Cell Therapy (GCT): Where Do We Stand and Where Do We Want to Go?", brought together leading experts, innovators, funders, and translational researchers in Frankfurt am Main on May 18/19 2026 to discuss the latest developments, opportunities, and challenges in the rapidly evolving field of gene and cell therapies.

When MyoPax joined the SPARK-BIH program in 2016, their vision was ambitious: to develop regenerative therapies that could restore muscle function in patients suffering from severe and previously untreatable muscle diseases. Ten years later, the project has grown into a pioneering biotech startup, recently winning the Deep Tech Award 2026 in the Bio & Healthtech category.

Deutschlandfunk Features Breakthroughs in Brain Stimulation for Treating Psychiatric Disorders including the research of Prof. Surjo Soekadar (in German).

Three SPARK Teams presented their innovative projects at the Cooperation & Venture Track.

The sessions are open to the entire SPARK network and welcome anyone with an interest in GCT and associated diagnostics – join us to connect, learn, and shape the future of advanced therapies!

The German Research Foundation (DFG) has awarded Prof. Dr. Volker Haucke the prestigious Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize 2025.

Congratulations to Dr. Marco Zierhut, SPARKee, Fellow of the BIH Charité Clinician Scientist Program (CSP) and Senior Physician at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the Charité (Campus Benjamin Franklin).

SPARK-BIH is very pleased to announce the official launch of the 2nd Germany-Wide Call for Translational Projects in Gene and Cell-Based Therapies and Associated Diagnostics in collaboration with DLR.

In a festive award ceremony, Eva Luise Köhler honored Prof. Dr. Alessandro Prigione and Prof. Dr. Markus Schülke with the 16th Eva Luise Köhler Research Award for Rare Diseases.

The StartUp Captain T Cell GmbH, a spin-off from Max Delbrück Center, successfully closed their seed financing round totaling 8.5 million €.