CAPNETZ network of competence, foundation, study

3 activities – one goal: no chance for CAP

The purpose of the foundation CAPNETZ STIFTUNG (CAP, community-acquired pneumonia) is to advance academic research on community-acquired pneumonia and other lower respiratory tract infections. Through the CAPNETZ databases and networks fundamental, microbiological, and clinical research are facilitated to investigate prevention, diagnostics and therapy management on CAP.

In memory of Professor Dr. Tobias Welte

The board members and staff of the CAPNETZ STIFTUNG are deeply saddened by the death of Professor Tobias Welte at the age 64 after a brief illness. Professor Welte was not only an outstanding physician and scientist, but also a visionary thinker who successfully led and accompanied many national and international alliances and societies with a strong sense of duty and an integrative, calm, and engaging approach. He always shared his vast knowledge with his students, colleagues and friends. His illustrious career has included significant roles such as President of the German Society for Pulmonology, the German Sepsis Society, and the European Respiratory Society. He played a pivotal role in capacity building and establishing several institutions, including the CAPNETZ competence network, with the founding of the CAPNETZ STIFTUNG in 2007. We remain indebted to him for his tireless work over many years. In the summer of 2024, Professor Welte would have celebrated both his 65th birthday and his impressive 20 th anniversary as Professor of Pulmonology at the Hannover Medical School. These milestones would not only have been cause for celebration, but also recognition of his long, dedicated, and significant contributions to the medical interventions aimed at saving lives and improving the wellbeing of many patients. However, his legacy will live on in medicine, in science, and in the hearts of all those who had the privilege of working with him, and will continue to inspire a new generation of physicians and scientists. Our thoughts are with his family and all those who have accompanied him with love and respect during this sad moment.
obituary

An occasion to look back and beyond:

Infections have always been a major cause of death. To reduce the mortality of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), one of the most common infectious diseases, was the major goal of CAPNETZ when it was established 20 years ago. The network on CAP has been greatly successful with major insights from fundamental and clinical CAP research which benefit patients and health care practitioners. To the 20-year anniversary of CAPNETZ we are highlighting milestones achieved, and reflect on future directions for CAPNETZ.
20 YEARS CAPNETZ

COMPETENCE NETWORK

The competence network CAPNETZ was established in 2001 by the German ministry of education and research (BMBF, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung) and has been expanding ever since. Physicians and researchers in Germany and Europe take part in this interdisciplinary collaboration towards new knowledge and inquiries on CAP and other acute respiratory infections. Improvements in disease management and better outcomes for patients and the healthcare system are brought about by the transfer of knowledge into medical practice.

CAPNETZ STUDY

The CAPNETZ study is a prospective multi-central observational study on community-acquired pneumonia. After two decades of patient recruitments the CAPNETZ study encompasses comprehensive data and biomaterials of over 14 000 CAP patients. These data and biomaterials form the basis for downstream research questions and constitute informative value for the national S3 guideline on CAP covering epidemiology, diagnosis, therapy and management of the disease.

RESEARCH FUNDING

The CAPNETZ STIFTUNG acts as a foundation which supports clinical and fundamental research as well as applied biomedical research on community-acquired pneumonia and other infections of the lower respiratory tract. Furthermore, every form of observational as well as clinical study (prevention, vaccination, diagnostic and therapeutic studies) can be conducted using the well established study project infrastructure of the foundation.

Interested researchers can formally request access to patient data and biomaterials, or collaborate with CAPNETZ STIFTUNG in implementation and data management of novel study projects.

The CAPNETZ STIFTUNG is associated partner of the German centre for lung research (DZL). The DZL was founded in 2011 as one of six German national centres for health research which are carried by BMBF and the federal state they are located in. Within the multi-disciplinary collaborative framework of the DZL innovative therapies and solutions for lung diseases are developed by leading researchers and physicians. As part of this collaborative effort CAPNETZ STIFTUNG contributes and receives support in terms of research and study infrastructure and public funding.