The collaborative project “iGUARD – Inhalable RNA therapeutics for the targeted treatment of lung diseases” has been awarded the Lower Saxony Innovation Award 2025. The award in the category “Knowledge and Technology Transfer” was received by a team of researchers from Hannover Medical School (MHH) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM. The team accepted the distinction on November 4, 2025, at the ceremonial award presentation in Hanover from Falko Mohrs, Lower Saxony’s Minister for Science and Culture. The Innovation Award is presented by the Niedersachsen.next innovation network and is endowed with 20,000 euros.
Active ingredient reaches the lungs directly
Despite successful vaccine development, effective medications are still unavailable for most viral diseases. The iGUARD team aims to change this and is developing RNA-based medicines for people with severe lung diseases. Because the active substances can be rapidly adapted to different viruses, they also offer protection against newly emerging infectious diseases. A special, patented chemical structure of the RNA enables the therapeutics to be inhaled directly into the lungs – increasing effectiveness while reducing serious side effects. Thanks to its high adaptability, the technology is suitable for accelerating the development of further antiviral therapies.
Innovative therapeutic approach
The iGUARD project has already received multiple rounds of support from the Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation (SPRIND) as part of the SPRIND Challenge. “I am very pleased that our innovative therapeutic approach has convinced the jury,” says Professor Axel Schambach, co-leader of the project and head of the MHH Institute for Experimental Hematology. “This award helps us to further advance our development and bring the therapeutic to patients more quickly.” Project partners include the MHH Institute for Experimental Hematology (Professor Axel Schambach, Prof. Dr. Dr. Adrian Schwarzer) and the Preclinical Pharmacology and Toxicology unit at Fraunhofer ITEM (Prof. Dr. Armin Braun, Dr. Philippe Vollmer Barbosa).
Almost 100 applications
The Lower Saxony Innovation Award has been presented since 2016. It is awarded each year by the Niedersachsen.next innovation network in the categories “Knowledge and Technology Transfer” and “Key Technologies.” The award honors forward-looking ideas that promote the transfer between science and business or enable technological breakthroughs. The patrons are Science Minister Falko Mohrs and Grant Hendrik Tonne, Lower Saxony’s Minister for Economic Affairs, Transport, and Building. This year, almost 100 applications were submitted for the Lower Saxony Innovation Award.
