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Research consortium receives €10 million for radically new drug delivery concept
A team of leading scientists at four European universities – including Philipps University in Marburg – has received a prestigious Synergy Grant worth around €10 million from the European Research Council (ERC). The CARAMEL (Covalent Chaotropic Membrane Transport for Biotherapeutic Delivery) project aims to solve one of the greatest challenges in modern medicine: the targeted transport of bioactive molecules into cells.
The research team is composed of Prof. Dr. Javier Montenegro (University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain), Prof. Werner Nau (Constructor University Bremen), Prof. Paola Luciani (University of Bern, Switzerland) and Prof. Dr. Oliver Hantschel, Professor of Biochemistry at the Department of Medicine at Marburg University.
Revolutionary approaches to drug delivery
Promising biotherapeutic molecules, including modern cancer drugs, often fail because they cannot overcome the protective cell membrane. The CARAMEL team is therefore pursuing a completely new strategy: it is replacing classic transport mechanisms with so-called chaotropic boron clusters, which penetrate the membrane barrier in an unconventional way. “Our approach challenges all previous assumptions about what a molecular transporter should look like and how it should function,” explains Hantschel. “If we are successful, we could open up new avenues for targeted cancer therapy.”
The researchers want to establish a fundamentally new principle of membrane transport and prove its therapeutic applicability—a breakthrough that could enable entirely new classes of drugs in the long term. “This funding impressively demonstrates that Marburg research is at the forefront internationally,” emphasizes Prof. Dr. Gert Bange, Vice President for Research at Philipps University of Marburg. “With projects such as CARAMEL, our scientists are not only doing pioneering work on fundamental scientific questions, but also laying the foundation for future medical innovations. The success of Prof. Hantschel and his team underscores the high quality and interdisciplinary strength of our university and its international networks.”
Marburg as a center of excellence in cancer research
Prof. Hantschel's research group at the Department of Medicine at the University of Marburg investigates the molecular mechanisms of cancer development in order to develop innovative therapeutic approaches. He is an internationally renowned expert: over 80 scientific publications in leading journals, an ERC Consolidator Grant, and more than €5 million in third-party funding attest to his scientific excellence.
Tumor biology is one of the key research areas at Philipps University of Marburg. Researchers from the fields of medicine, biochemistry, and chemistry work closely together here to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Together with the University Cancer Center Frankfurt-Marburg, Marburg is one of Germany's leading oncology centers funded by German Cancer Aid.
Background: ERC Synergy Grants
The European Research Council's Synergy Grants are among the most prestigious funding formats in Europe. They support groups of 2-4 outstanding researchers who jointly implement ambitious, high-risk projects that could not be accomplished alone. Funding can amount to up to 10 million euros over six years and is intended to enable groundbreaking scientific breakthroughs.
Image: Portrait of Prof. Oliver Hantschel, photo: Dr. Sharof Khudayberdiev
Download: https://www.uni-marburg.de/de/aktuelles/news/2025/hantschel_o
Prof. Dr. Oliver Hantschel
Department of Medicine
Philipps-Universität Marburg
E-Mail: oliver.hantschel@uni-marburg.de
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