The President of the Max Planck Institute, Prof. Patrick Cramer, expressed hope for individualized cancer therapy; developing tailored medications is one of the key goals. Science Minister Markus Blume (CSU) is confident: “This could be developed in Wurzburg in the future.” A Max Planck Institute with a research focus on immunology is planned to be established there by 2027. A research group is already working in this field at the University of Würzburg. According to Blume, the “quality of the researchers” is so high that Würzburg is “ripe” for its own immunology institute.
Biomedicine One of the Greatest Development Prospects
The signatures from both the Max Planck Institute and the state government have now been secured to realize the project. Minister President Markus Söder (CSU) stated that immunology, and biomedicine in general, is one of the “greatest development prospects.” “We’ve learned since COVID: rapid scientific research is the basis for life.” Max Planck President Prof. Patrick Cramer noted that the Institute already has successes in immunology and personalized therapy to its name: the breast cancer drug Herceptin “originates from the Max Planck Society.”
Interdisciplinary Center for Novel RNA Technologies
The responsible ministers see the establishment of the institute as an opportunity for Bavaria as a center for science and business. According to Science Minister Markus Blume, it gives the city of Würzburg “significant tailwind in the race to become a University of Excellence.” Together with the University Hospital and the Max Planck Society, this creates an interdisciplinary center for “novel RNA technologies,” Blume said. Bavaria must not fall behind in the field of medicine and science, added Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger (Free Voters). Otherwise, “not only would knowledge be lost, but also jobs and prosperity.”
Science a Cornerstone of Democracy
The institute is set to receive 10 to 15 million euros per year from the federal and state governments. The Max Planck Society already operates 13 institutes in Bavaria with various research focuses. For President Patrick Cramer, research and science are cornerstones of democracy. “We see in the USA, in Argentina, in various regions of the world, that science is under threat and critical thinking is being pushed back.”
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