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Macrophage-based immunotherapy of platinum-resistant ovarian cancer

Project description

First-in-class cell therapy for solid tumours

Nearly one third of ovarian cancers develop resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs that contain platinum, such as cisplatin and carboplatin. Funded by the European Innovation Council, the MACOV project aims to address this medical issue by developing a macrophage-based immunotherapeutic approach. The idea is to generate an off-the-shelf product that consists of allogeneic macrophages that carry targeted therapeutics destined for cancer cells. The project will investigate the efficacy of these cells in multiple animal models for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. Moreover, researchers will study the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of this cell-based product, and alongside toxicological assessment, they will prepare it for a Phase I clinical trial.

Objective

Resistance to platinum-based chemotherapy is a major clinical challenge in ovarian cancer. About 300,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year and the number of deaths is estimated at 180,000 worldwide each year. Ovarian cancer metastasizes early in its development, often before it's diagnosed. Ovarian cancer treatment involves surgery with frontline platinum-based chemotherapy. As many as 15-30% of patients with ovarian cancer have primary platinum-resistant or refractory disease. The recurrence of ovarian cancer is now considered a sign of an incurable disease (it becomes platinum-resistant).
The project MACOV aims to develop an innovative allogeneic, ready-to-use macrophage-based therapy for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. This is a ground-breaking, first in class therapy that shows very high efficacy in multiple solid tumors of unmet medical need.
These cells are equipped with targeted therapy drugs complexed with the carrier protein ensuring their stability in the carrier cell. The protein-drug complex is transferred specifically to cancer cells. The whole concept of this cell therapy is based on the groundbreaking scientific discoveries of MDC (Macrophage-Drug Conjugate). Two European Research Council (ERC) grants were received to study the molecular basis of the discovered mechanism - in 2016 and 2020. In 2018 this project was selected to be promoted as one of the 10 European projects during ERC 10th Anniversary.
The MACOV project will generate of complete efficacy data package for the pre-clinical development of MDC-735 product, consisting of efficacy in multiple animal models for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, PK, PD and toxicology study as well as consolidate IP and validate business case. The result of the project will be a validated cell therapy product for platinum-refractory ovarian cancer, tested for effectiveness and ready-to-use for the Phase I clinical trial.

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Topic(s)

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HORIZON-EIC - HORIZON EIC Grants

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) HORIZON-EIC-2022-TRANSITION-01

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Coordinator

CELLIS SPOLKA Z OGRANICZONA ODPOWIEDZIALNOSCIA
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 2 499 998,75
Address
GENERALA ZAJACZKA 26
01-510 WARSAW
Poland

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SME

The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.

Yes
Region
Makroregion województwo mazowieckie Warszawski stołeczny Miasto Warszawa
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 2 499 998,75
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