Deutsche Biotech Innovativ AG made great progress in its R&D activities in fiscal year 2014 and during the first months of 2015. The focus of its research was on innovative candidate drugs for the treatment of sepsis (severe systemic bacterial infection) and breast cancer prevention as well as cancer treatment. Within the last year and a half, the Hennigsdorf-based biotech company near Berlin was able to successfully expand its preclinical product pipeline by three drug candidates.

Preclinical studies show promising results: DBI's lead product is a partial agonist for treating sepsis, a disease that annually affects 15 to 19 million people worldwide and is fatal for 30% of these patients. There are currently no approved medications for treating sepsis. Adrecizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody, developed by DBI is intended to be used for the causal and safe treatment of sepsis patients.

The drug stabilizes the bioactivity of the peptide hormone adrenomedullin, thereby preventing organ failure during septic shock. After achieving very successful results during preclinical studies, DBI is currently preparing the phase I study. In addition, DBI is researching drugs for breast cancer prevention and cancer treatment.

Aprepitant and AB2302 are two promising drug candidates. Aprepitant, an NK-1 receptor antagonist, is said to trigger controlled apoptosis (programmed cell death) in the presence of abnormal cells in women with an increased risk of breast cancer. The AB2302 antibody blocks adrenomedullin and restricts tumor growth by preventing the development of blood vessels.