Image: Prof. Heyo K. Kroemer, Chairman of the Charité Executive Board, Dr Friede Springer, Chairwoman of the Friede Springer Foundation and Prof. Georg Seifert, Head of the Charité Competence Centre for Traditional and Integrative Medicine (CCCTIM) in front of the entrance to the CCCTIM. Charité | Maria Streltsova
New centre of excellence with a scientific focus
Berlin, 02.07.2025
Integrative medicine combines evidence-based conventional medicine with naturopathic and traditional treatment methods to create an overall therapeutic concept. In order to better understand the mechanisms of action of integrative therapies, develop new integrative therapy concepts and promote cooperation between different specialist disciplines, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin has now established a new centre: the Charité Competence Center for Traditional and Integrative Medicine (CCCTIM). This will be Europe’s largest centre for researching and evaluating traditional and integrative medicine at university medical level. The main sponsor is Friede Springer gGmbH.
Traditional medicine has not only contributed to the discovery of life-saving active ingredients, such as the Nobel Prize-winning artemisinin, but has also produced practices such as meditation, yoga, water treatments and fasting, which are recognised worldwide. According to the WHO, almost 80 per cent of the world’s population use traditional medicine. Leading international clinics are increasingly integrating naturopathic methods.
Ceremonial opening of the centre
Charité now wants to take these developments into account with the establishment of the CCCTIM. At a ceremonial kick-off meeting in the ruined lecture theatre of Charité’s Berlin Museum of Medical History, the team led by Professor Georg Seifert, Head of CCCTIM, presented the centre’s vision and how this is already visible in projects: “We are establishing an integrative medical centre of excellence with a clear scientific focus. From a global perspective, this is of essential importance. We now have the opportunity to set the tone here and help shape it.”
Inspired by naturopathic methods, traditional knowledge and supported by cutting-edge science, innovative concepts will drive the transformation towards a preventative healthcare system. This makes the CCCTIM part of the prevention strategy component of the ‘Charité Strategy 2030’, which sees health as an active process of adaptation and prevention and recognises people in all their dimensions.
The development of this innovative project is supported by Friede Springer gGmbH and the Software AG Foundation.
Knowledge transfer in care and teaching
‘The new centre will make an important contribution to patient-centred, sustainable healthcare,’ says Prof. Heyo K. Kroemer, Chairman of the Charité Executive Board. “Our goal is to rethink health. And a project like this is an important step in that direction – one that would not be possible without financial support. I would therefore like to take this opportunity to thank Friede Springer for her vision and her great support.”
In order to scientifically evaluate integrative medical concepts, a study centre is to be established and a CCCTIM university outpatient clinic is to be connected. Another focus is on promoting the transfer of knowledge in healthcare and teaching, as Dean Prof Joachim Spranger explains: ‘With the CCCTIM, we are creating a scientifically sound platform to systematically research the potential of traditional and naturopathic methods and make them usable in combination with proven conventional medicine in the sense of integrative medicine.’
Human and natural health
Integrative medicine is also gaining relevance against the backdrop of the current situation in the healthcare system and changes in climate and biodiversity – as a concept that considers the health of humans and nature from a systemic overall perspective. Dr Friede Springer, who is a major sponsor of this project, emphasises: “Meeting the global health challenges of our time is a complex task that requires new approaches. That is why I am happy to support this innovative project and am delighted that Charité is dedicating itself to this important topic.”
The need for scientific research into integrative medicine is also evident in the focus of the World Health Organisation: with the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre, an area has been integrated to further develop and scientifically investigate evidence-based therapies of naturopathy and traditional medicine. This is intended to improve quality of life and promote holistic, sustainable healthcare and prevention for all. The CCCTIM is currently in the process of obtaining official WHO Collaborating Centre status.
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