Project description
Safer radioactive therapies for metastatic cancer
Targeted alpha therapy employs radioactive molecules to selectively eliminate cancer cells, achieving complete remissions in patients with metastatic disease refractory to other treatments. However, radioactive decay products can be released from their carriers and spread throughout the body, causing toxic side effects that limit the application of this approach. The ERC-funded AlphaTar project addresses this fundamental challenge by developing ultrasmall nanoformulations that are below 10 nanometres. These encapsulate radioactive materials and their decay products, while being rapidly cleared through the kidneys to minimise off-target accumulation. Combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors and imaging-based patient selection strategies, this approach aims to dramatically improve the safety and efficacy of targeted alpha therapy for metastatic cancer patients.
Objective
Targeted alpha therapy, a treatment that relies on targeting pharmaceuticals labeled with ⍺ emitters, has produced complete cures of metastatic cancer patients with refractory diseases in clinical trials. However, targeted alpha therapy is limited by the release of radioisotopes from the pharmaceuticals. In ⍺ emissions, the decay products break the chemical bonds by which they are bound to the radiopharmaceutical, and once liberated, they spread all over the body, causing off-target radiopoisoning. Thus, preventing radioisotope release is a fundamental step to improve targeted alpha therapy safety and extend its use beyond terminal cases.
In AlphaTar, I will completely change how ⍺ emitters (particularly 212Pb) are delivered to metastatic tumors. This will be done by developing a novel therapeutic regime that employs targeted ultra-small nanoformulations as carriers. These nanoformulations will conceal the radiometals and their decay products and minimize side effects, while displaying enhanced therapeutic activity. Most clinical nanomedicine formulations are large (>50 nm) and display long-term accumulations in the liver and spleen, making them unsuitable for targeted alpha therapy, since those cause radiopoisoning. My approach will rely on formulations with sizes below the renal clearance cutoff (<10 nm), which can be rapidly and completely excreted through the urine with minimal off-target accumulation. Imaging-based strategies will be developed to identify patients who are likely to respond to AlphaTar, and genomic screening will be performed to assess safety. Local and systemic responses will be improved via combination therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors, and physical and pharmacological priming will be used to enhance nanomedicine extravasation, penetration, and retention in tumors. The outcomes of AlphaTar will be highly impactful, as they contribute to overcoming fundamental challenges in metastatic cancer therapy in a realistic manner.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology nanomedicine
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2025-COG
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52074 Aachen
Germany
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