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Phyto-Research: Bionorica Research, Innsbruck, Austria |
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Austria's first private institution to be exclusively involved in the research and development of herbal medicines (phytopharmaceuticals) was founded in March 2005. Dr. Eberhard Pirich (photo) is Managing Director of the new research center.
Bionorica Research was established thanks to the support of the National Austrian Foundation for Research, Technology and Development in cooperation with the Tyrolean Future Foundation, and with the help of financial resources from its parent company, Bionorica.
Objectives and Main Research Projects
The mission of Bionorica Research in Innsbruck is to enable more research and development of plant-based (phyto) active substances in conjunction with modern analytical methods and the latest in process technologies (engineering). The objective is to provide patients with innovative herbal medicines and/or drugs based on natural substances in the shortest time possible.
The work in Innsbruck is mainly focused on therapies for diseases of the respiratory tract and to fight pain. In the field of plant-based therapeutic agents for the respiratory tract, studies are being performed using potential extracts for development that have been singled out as the most suitable candidates based on the available data. In other words, the ones that may lead to a herbal active ingredient. The development of plant-based medicines for the treatment of sinusitis and allergic rhinitis is also planned. Currently, five potential active ingredients are being tested for their suitability.
To provide patients relief from pain, Bionorica Research is concentrating its investigations on the most important constituent in the hemp plant. This active substance offers completely new combination therapeutic treatment regimens in patients suffering from chronic pain or those with cancer, AIDS or multiple sclerosis. Pilot studies are now underway.
Managing Director of Bionorica Research
As Managing Director of Bionorica Research, Dr. Eberhard Pirich (photo) supervises the activities of the new research center. The main responsibilities of his staff are to plan, carry out and coordinate clinical trials and to prepare the documentation for the drug approval process. Special tasks such as analyses are performed by professional institutes or given to the qualified staff at Bionorica. In addition, there are six positions for doctorial candidates and post-docs at the participating institutes, some of which are long-standing research partners of Bionorica.
Phyto-Research: the Use of Synergies and Networks
The Institute for Analytical Chemistry, the Institute for Pharmaceutical Biology, the Institute for Botany, the Institute for Pharmacology and the Institute for Ion Physics are among Bionorica's, in some cases, long-standing and highly competent phyto-research partners in Innsbruck. Other partners include the companies Biocrates Life Sciences and Ionimed. Bionorica Research will not restrict itself to the vicinity of Innsbruck when it comes to research cooperation. Research institutes in Graz, Vienna and in neighboring countries are to become involved in the projects as well.
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