Andreas Kogler, Managing Director of Cells+Tissuebank Austria (C+TBA), and Bernhard Dollensky, Chief Operation Officer of IMC Krems, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a strategic partnership at the IMC Krems campus. The official signing takes a cooperation that has already been successful for several years to a new, long-term level.
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New strategic partnership strengthens research and innovation
The event was attended by Angelika Faytl, who is responsible for science communication at C+TBA and plays a key role in supporting the close networking between research and practice.
Cells+Tissuebank Austria (C+TBA)
Cells+Tissuebank Austria (C+TBA) is a non-profit tissue bank based in Krems an der Donau. It collects, tests, processes and stores human tissue (primarily bone tissue from donations) and uses it to produce safe transplants for medical treatments.
Its goal is to ensure the supply of high-quality tissue transplants for medical care and to establish a connection between donors, clinics and patients. It operates in accordance with strict legal and quality standards and is monitored by the authorities.
In short, C+TBA ensures that donated human tissue is professionally processed and made safely available for operations (e.g. in orthopaedics).
Scientific collaboration with a lasting impact
The foundation for the collaboration was laid in 2021 by Harald Hundsberger and Hans Peter Weitzenböck (both IMC Krems). In a successful preliminary experiment, they succeeded in characterising protein and peptide traces in decellularised bone allografts using mass spectrometry.
Based on these promising results, C+TBA funded the in-depth contract research project KTR 5106. The findings from this project in turn formed the basis for a successful joint submission within the framework of the WST3 funding programme.
In the subsequent three-year applied research project KTR 5111 (2022–2025), Adrian Lendvai is working on the comprehensive characterisation of numerous C+TBA products and their functional components as part of the UWK PhD programme. In addition, he developed innovative methods for quality control, which have now been firmly integrated into C+TBA's processes as standardised QM tests – a significant step towards sustainable quality assurance and international competitiveness.
Looking to the future
The strategic partnership between IMC Krems and C+TBA is a prime example of the successful integration of applied research, industrial implementation and international marketing. Work is currently underway on a further submission as part of the CD programme (Ressel Centre) to further expand the joint research work and institutionalise it in the long term.
This partnership creates a strong network of science, production and global distribution – supported by Andreas Kogler, Bernhard Dollensky, Angelika Faytl, Harald Hundsberger, Hans Peter Weitzenböck und Adrian Lendvai – that sustainably drives innovation in the field of regenerative tissue materials.
Business partnerships
Business partnerships at IMC Krems represent long-term cooperation with selected companies. Together, we pursue a clear vision: to combine research, teaching and practice in a sustainable manner.