No. 06

Bayer and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Strategic Alliance Against Cancer

Bayer HealthCare and the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have agreed on a five-year strategic research alliance against cancer. The two partners have already been collaborating since 2009 with the aim of jointly developing novel therapeutic options for cancer patients. Bayer and the DKFZ will together invest up to 30 million Euros into their collaboration over the next five years to address the high medical need in cancer treatment and diagnosis.

“Increasingly, we can build on the excellent results of our basic research and transfer them to the clinic. For successful translation, we need strong partners: both in the clinic, where we can rely on the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) in Heidelberg and on the German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research, and in industry. The strategic alliance with Bayer HealthCare over the past five years has been extremely successful. Together we are able to advance promising projects with the prospect of reaching the clinic and hopefully the patients. We are pleased to continue this alliance for another five years," explained Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Wiestler, CEO of the German Cancer Research Center.

“We are looking forward to another five years of fruitful collaboration with the DKFZ. Together we have already initiated twenty-eight projects and twelve projects have reached important milestones," said Prof. Dr. Andreas Busch, Member of the Bayer HealthCare Executive Committee and Head of Global Drug Discovery. “The DKFZ’s scientific excellence as Germany’s largest biomedical research institute perfectly matches with Bayer’s proven drug discovery and development expertise. There is still a huge medical need in the treatment of a number of tumor types and cancer in general. This alliance demonstrates Bayer’s ongoing commitment to develop innovative therapies that can help patients suffering from cancer."

About DKFZ

With more than 3,000 employees, the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) is Germany’s largest biomedical research institute. DKFZ scientists identify cancer risk factors, investigate how cancer progresses and develop new cancer prevention strategies. They are also developing new methods to diagnose tumors more precisely and treat cancer patients more successfully. The DKFZ's Cancer Information Service (KID) provides patients, interested citizens and experts with individual answers to questions relating to cancer.

To transfer promising approaches from cancer research to the clinic and thus improve the prognosis of cancer patients, the DKFZ cooperates with excellent research institutions and university hospitals throughout Germany:

  • National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT, 6 sites)
  • German Cancer Consortium (DKTK, 8 sites)
  • Hopp Children's Cancer Center (KiTZ) Heidelberg
  • Helmholtz Institute for Translational Oncology (HI-TRON Mainz) - A Helmholtz Institute of the DKFZ
  • DKFZ-Hector Cancer Institute at the University Medical Center Mannheim
  • National Cancer Prevention Center (jointly with German Cancer Aid)

The DKFZ is 90 percent financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and 10 percent by the state of Baden-Württemberg. The DKFZ is a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers.