Bern to host a national center of excellence for translational medicine

The Swiss Institute for Translational and Entrepreneurial Medicine (sitem-insel AG) is setting up a center of excellence to professionalize and accelerate the transfer of innovations from fundamental research and industrial development into medical practice. Based in Bern, it will open its doors in 2017. The new National Center of Excellence for Translational Medicine and Entrepreneurship […]

The Swiss Institute for Translational and Entrepreneurial Medicine (sitem-insel AG) is setting up a center of excellence to professionalize and accelerate the transfer of innovations from fundamental research and industrial development into medical practice. Based in Bern, it will open its doors in 2017.

The new National Center of Excellence for Translational Medicine and Entrepreneurship aims at bridging existing weaknesses in the translational process – the process of transforming findings from fundamental research and industrial developments into clinical applications. Improving and accelerating the translational process will narrow the gap between the small number of truly innovative products being used at the hospital bedside and the large volume of new findings and technologies, ultimately benefitting the patients.

Sitem-insel AG is ready to collaborate with Swiss- and foreign-based corporate and university partners and will focus on three areas. Firstly, it will train specialists in translation with the aim of professionalizing the process. Secondly, it will provide infrastructure and personnel at the interface between industry and academic medicine to promote cooperation. Thirdly, it will establish a Translation Promoting Service to optimize the administrative and/or regulatory effort along the route from laboratory bench to commercial product.

At the heart of the Swiss Medtech Cluster, Bern is the ideal location for translational medicine as it boasts various institutions with direct relevance to translation. The University of Bern’s ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research has extensive experience in combining medicine and technical innovation from its work in developing artificial organs. The national centers of excellence Transcure and RNA & Diseases are further major bodies with great potential in this field.