"Accolade" for InnoZell: Animal-free quality control on the way to application
exist research transfer for founding team at the University of Konstanz
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The startup InnoZell at the University of Konstanz is developing novel cell-based test systems that are able to detect microbial contaminants in drugs or medical products quickly, sensitively and without animal testing. The new method was developed in the research group of Prof. Dr. Christof Hauck, Professor of Cell Biology at the University of Constance. Until now, a large number of animal experiments have been necessary for so-called contamination tests in medicine. With InnoZell, this will soon be a thing of the past.
The InnoZell team led by Dr. Clovis Hugues Seumen Tiogang, Dr. Ann-Kathrin Mix and Erik Sontowski from the University of Konstanz and entrepreneur Joachim Plesch is now being funded to the tune of over 800,000 euros as part of the exist research transfer program of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE). The highly competitive program is one of the most important funding schemes for research-based start-up projects in Germany. It supports projects with a high technical development risk in the transition from academic research to commercial implementation. The approval of an exist research transfer is therefore considered an "accolade" for a start-up. The funding now enables the InnoZell team to further develop its own research results in a targeted manner and prepare the transfer to application.
From research to application
The biotechnological production of drugs uses human cells as production platforms for so-called biologics. These processes are efficient and sustainable, but carry the risk of microbial contamination. The InnoZell team uses cells not only as production systems, but also as detectors - and has modified human immune cells so that they can detect impurities in the laboratory faster and more sensitively than existing test methods. This opens up a new avenue for the quality control of biopharmaceutical products without animal testing.
The InnoZell team has been accompanied by the Knowledge and Technology Transfer (WTT) team at the University of Konstanz since 2022 and is supported by forum.konstanz and Unternehmer:innen für Gründer:innen (UfG e.V.).
About the exist research transfer program
The exist research transfer program supports research-based start-up projects that involve complex and high-risk development work. In two funding phases, scientific results are further developed, the foundation is prepared and the start of business operations is made possible. The program is supported by the BMWE and co-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF).
Overview of facts
Previous successes of InnoZell:
- exist research transfer of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, 2025
- Start-Up Summit BW Elevator Pitch, 2025
- ASAP Overall Winner, 2025
- Go-Bio Initial funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, 2024
- Special research prize, entrepreneurs for founders (UfG e.V.), 2024
- "Transfer Platforms" funding program, University of Konstanz, 2023
- Science Innovation Award, Kilometer1, 2022
Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.
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