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Katja Rosenkranz

Fraud in scientific institutes: a crack in the fabric of science

The pursuit of scientific knowledge is at the heart of human progress – it leads to ground-breaking discoveries that have transformed our understanding of the world and our place within it. However, this noble pursuit is not without its blemishes. Scientific fraud – the deliberate misrepresentation of data or results to deceive the scientific community – poses a serious threat to the integrity of the scientific enterprise in both academia and industry. So, what can we do about it?

The obesity revolution: will new drugs bring about big changes?

The recent approval of the obesity and diabetes drugs Wegovy, Ozempic, and Mounjaro has brought about big headlines, but are these treatments also leading to a shift in our perception of obesity? Obesity has long been seen as a failure of individual willpower, but it is becoming increasingly apparent that losing and keeping off the kilos is a more complex, biological challenge. These new drugs offer a first, rather simplistic solution to a complicated problem, yet perhaps they will lead to a much-needed revolution in how obesity is viewed and treated.

Antimicrobial Resistance – the hidden killer we’re ignoring

Antimicrobial Resistance has become an enormous challenge for global health, yet remains largely ignored by companies. As this deadly race worsens, we urgently need to address the huge mismatch between the need and incentive for developing new antimicrobial drugs.

Biogen’s controversial Alzheimer’s drug approved by the FDA – what now?

It has been three months since the much-discussed FDA approval of Biogen’s Aduhelm, a treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease. The drug has been celebrated by some as a breakthrough for Alzheimer’s patients, but others remain highly sceptical or even openly opposed to the FDA decision. What has caused the furor? And what will this approval mean for other biotech companies developing new drugs for neurodegenerative diseases (and for the VCs backing them)?

Magic mushrooms in modern medicine

More than 75 years after the initial discovery of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin and other natural psychoactive drugs, and their initial exploitation by the western pharma industry, these substances have seen a recent revival in clinical research. Although banned in the notorious “War on Drugs” initiated by US President Nixon, the potential medicinal applications of these substances are finally being explored again, particularly for treating depressive disorders and other mental diseases. This article aims to shed light on a topic we highlighted before in this series - anti-science in biotech - to illustrate the consequences of research being abandoned, as well as the opportunities and additional challenges to making these substances finally available for patients in need.

Cultured meat, plant-based patties and bug burgers: VCs are backing protein alternatives

When it comes to food, our key sources of nutrition haven’t changed much in the last ten thousand years. Though hyped-up food trends and diets come and go, our ancestors established the status quo for our primary protein sources a long time ago: animal products, like dairy, eggs and meat, have been the staples ever since we switched from hunters to farmers. However, with rising global populations driving sky-high demand for animal products, is it time for another food revolution?