The winners of the second round of the Clusters4Future competition in Germany have been announced by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Among them is C-NATM, a cluster focused on the development of innovative therapies using nucleic acids. C-NATM is led by Prof. Thomas Carell, Director of the Institute of Chemical Epigenetics at LMU Munich and Supervisor of two ESRs in NATURE-ETN. The cluster involves the two universities in Munich, the Helmholtz Center for Health Research, and various international and biotech companies based in the Munich area.
The main objective of C-NATM is to create ground-breaking therapeutics using DNA, RNA, and smaller nucleic acids. An example of this is the development of RNA-based vaccines for combating COVID-19, although the potential of these technologies extends far beyond that, potentially opening up a new era in drug therapy.
The Cluster will receive five million euros funding annually from the German government, the Free State of Bavaria, and participating companies.