From Research to Health: Advancing Medical Translation for Patient Benefit
How do scientific discoveries reach patients? Prof. Christopher Baum, Chair of the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH), explains why medical translation and innovation are key to care.
Prof. Dr. Christopher Baum Chair of the BIH Board of Directors and Chief Translational Research Officer of Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. Photo: Thomas Rafalzyk
The BIH’s mission is often summarized as “from research to health.” How do you define medical translation, and why is it so central to improving patient outcomes?
Prof. Christopher Baum: For me, medical translation describes the systematic and responsible process of transforming biomedical discoveries into clinically validated diagnostics, therapies, and preventive strategies. It connects basic research with patient care and ensures that scientific insights are developed, tested, and implemented in a way that delivers measurable benefits. Without effective translation, even excellent research remains disconnected from real-world health outcomes.
In your view, what are the key scientific, institutional, and regulatory conditions needed to translate biomedical research into real health benefits for patients?
Prof. Christopher Baum: Successful translation requires high-quality, reproducible science with a clear clinical question from the outset. Institutionally, it depends on close collaboration between researchers, clinicians, and technology transfer units, supported by appropriate infrastructures and incentives. Regulatory conditions must be transparent, science-based, and adaptable, enabling innovation while maintaining high standards of patient safety and ethical responsibility.
Many innovative ideas originate in Germany and Europe - but not all of them make it into clinical practice or commercial application. What needs to change to ensure that more promising research reaches patients?
Prof. Christopher Baum: Europe must strengthen the interfaces between academia, clinical development, and commercialization. This includes earlier engagement with industry and investors, improved access to translational funding, and early anticipation of regulatory requirements. Equally important is fostering an innovation culture and a mindset that values entrepreneurship, interdisciplinary collaboration, public-private co-development, and responsible risk-taking, all based on scientific and clinical excellence.
How important is ecosystem building - across academia, clinics, industry, investors, and policymakers - to accelerate medical translation? Can you share an example where such collaboration made a tangible difference?
Prof. Christopher Baum: A decisive factor in accelerating medical translation is ecosystem building, as complex innovations cannot be advanced by individual actors alone. Areas such as gene and cell therapy illustrate how tightly coordinated collaboration between academic research, clinical centers, industry partners, regulators, and funders can significantly reduce development times and bring advanced therapies to patients more efficiently.
bio:cap aims to cover the full innovation cycle - from basic research and tech transfer to financing and political support. Why is it important to keep that entire chain connected, and what happens when one link is missing?
Prof. Christopher Baum: Keeping the entire chain connected is essential, because biomedical translation also depends on smooth handovers between discovery, development, financing, regulation, and implementation. When one link is missing, promising innovations often fail because of gaps in coordination, funding, or strategic alignment. Formats like bio:cap enable interdisciplinary dialogue and attract private investors, which are essential partners to bring innovations to patients.