CERCLE DIPLOMATIQUE - issue 02/2019

L’AUTRICHE PHARMA INDUSTRY
Mio. Euro wurden im Jahr 2017 am
Standort Österreich in die Arzneimittelforschung
295
investiert.
million euro were invested in medicine
research in Austria in 2017.
Bild: Kästenbauer/Ettl
Arbeitsplätze für
Spezialisten: Produktion,
Labor, Qualitätskontrolle in
der Pharmaindustrie.
Positions for specialists:
production, lab, quality
control in the pharmaceutical
industry.
lent conditions for medical research: In September
2018, Boehringer Ingelheim took over ViraTherapeutics.
The biopharmaceutical company from Innsbruck
specialises in researching therapies with oncolytic
viruses and is currently developing a promising
new therapeutic approach in the field of cancer research.
Looking at such achievements, Silvia Hofinger
from the Association of the Austrian Chemical Industry
is rightfully proud of research in Austria. “Also
concerning the execution of clinical studies, Austria
ranks among the top countries in the world. This is
especially the case in the areas of oncology, Alzheimer’s
research and pain therapy.” Pfizer alone is currently
conducting around 15 clinical studies in Austria. The
focus lies on cancer, diseases pertaining to chronic inflammation,
pain, haematology, dermatology as well
as other rare diseases. Research is conducted in collaboration
with medical universities, hospitals and specialist
clinics. In 2017, the company spent 54.2 million
euro on joint research efforts, reports Pfizer general
director Rumler, “That shows: When all the conditions
are right, a global firm like Pfizer will be more
than happy to invest in the country.”
Rumler also emphasises the fact that Austria has
very high medical and scientific standards. “Research
groups and institutes are known and connected well
beyond the nation’s borders.” Many international scientists
are enriching the Austrian research scene. In
the current highly competitive climate, however,
Pfizer’s director views it as a challenge for the country
to remain a magnet for scientists from all over the
world. “Such an endeavour is going to require attractive
conditions and additional opportunities for development.
This concerns the direct work environment,
such as equipment and budgets for research
projects, as well as the wider environment, for example
by making immigration less bureaucratic.”
It goes without saying that Austria doesn’t lead the
way in every domain. This is confirmed by the representatives
of the interests groups, “One area where we
see room for improvement is the relatively high tax
rate,” says Silvia Hofinger from the Association of the
Austrian Chemical Industry. Here, the industry is
hoping for significant steps in the right direction in
the next tax reform. Alexander Herzog, general secretary
of Pharmig, considers the non-wage labour
costs an additional handicap, which, at the same
time, has several positive effects, too. “In the end, a
strong social safety net, which is in part responsible
for high non-wage labour costs, contributes to the
high quality of life and thereby to the security of a
nation.” Still, Herzog hopes for some alleviation in
the coming reforms. As a matter of fact, the current
government has already facilitated an important improvement
for the industry’s business conditions,
“Making working hours more flexible has made it
possible for us to react better to fluctuations in order
volume,” says Herzog. Good prospects then, that
Austria remains a pharma haven.
PHOTOS: BOEHRINGER INGELHEIM / RAINER MIRAU
Hoffnung für krebskranke Menschen
Hope for Cancer Patients
„Wir können Hoffnung bringen“ ist das Motto
des Wiener Neustädter Krebsbehandlungs- und
Forschungszentrums MedAustron. In der Tat ist
die Ionen- oder Partikeltherapie eine Therapieform,
die vor allem bei Tumorerkrankungen zum Einsatz
kommt, die gegen traditionelle Strahlentherapie resistent
sind, oder sich in schwierig zu behandelnden
anatomischen Lagen befinden. Mit der besonderen
Form der Strahlentherapie lassen sich einerseits
Nebenwirkungen und Langzeitschäden minimieren
und andererseits die Strahlendosis bei aggressiven
Tumoren erhöhen.
Besonders sinnvoll erweist sich die Ionentherapie
bei Kindern und Jugendlichen, deren wachsende
Organe besonders empfindlich sind, bei Patientinnen
und Patienten mit Tumoren direkt neben strahlensensitivem
Gewebe und bei erneuten Tumoren
nach einer konventionellen Strahlentherapie.
Im Ablauf unterscheidet sich die Ionentherapie
nicht wesentlich von anderen Strahlentherapien:
über mehrere Wochen kommen die Patientinnen
und Patienten täglich für eine ambulante Bestrahlung
zu MedAustron. In der Regel erfolgt eine
Zuweisung über den jeweiligen behandelnden Arzt,
doch steht Patientinnen und Patienten auch jederzeit
die direkte Kontaktaufnahme mit MedAustron
offen.
Aktuell werden Patientinnen und Patienten dort mit
Protonen bestrahlt, noch heuer wird die Behandlung
auch mit Kohlenstoffionen möglich sein.
Weltweit wird MedAustron damit die erst sechste
Einrichtung sein, der unterschiedliche Arten von
Teilchen für die klinische Anwendung zur Verfügung
stehen.
Weitere Informationen: www.medaustron.at Therapieanfragen
an patient@medaustron.at bzw. unter
02622 / 26100 – 300.
◆
"We can bring hope" is the motto of the Cancer Treatment
and Research Centre MedAustron, based in
Wiener Neustadt. In fact, ion or particle therapy is a
form of therapy that is mainly used for tumor diseases
that are resistant to conventional radiation therapy or
are in anatomical positions that are difficult to treat.
The special form of radiation therapy minimizes side
effects and long-term damage on the one hand and
increases the radiation dose in aggressive tumors on
the other.
Particle therapy is particularly suitable for children
and adolescents whose growing organs are extremely
sensitive, for patients with tumors directly located
next to radiation-sensitive tissue and in patients with
recurrent tumors following conventional radiation
therapy.
Particle therapy does not differ significantly from
other radiation therapies in the course of the treatment:
patients come to MedAustron daily for outpatient
radiation for several weeks. As a rule, patients are
referred to MedAustron by their doctor, but patients
can also contact MedAustron directly at any time.
Currently, patients there are being irradiated with
protons, this year it will also be possible to treat them
with carbon ions. MedAustron will thus be the sixth
facility in the world to have different types of particles
available for clinical application.
More information at www.medaustron.at Therapy
inquiries: patient@medaustron.at or 02622 / 26100
– 300.
58 Cercle Diplomatique 2/2019
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www.medaustron.at