Synergistic engineering of anti-tumor immunity by synthetic biomaterials

Project Information

ImmunoBioSynth

Grant agreement ID: 817938

DOI

10.3030/817938

Project closed

EC signature date 27 February 2019

Start date 1 April 2019

End date 30 September 2024

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)

Total cost

€ 2 000 000,00

EU contribution

€ 2 000 000,00

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITEIT GENT
Belgium

Periodic Reporting for period 4 - ImmunoBioSynth (Synergistic engineering of anti-tumor immunity by synthetic biomaterials)

Reporting period: 2023-10-01 to 2024-09-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Immunotherapy holds the potential to dramatically improve the curative prognosis of cancer patients. However, despite significant progress, a huge gap remains to be bridged to gain board success in the clinic. A first limiting factor in cancer immunotherapy is the low response rate in large fraction of the patients and an unmet need exists for more efficient - potentially synergistic - immunotherapies that improve upon or complement existing strategies. The second limiting factor is immune-related toxicity that can cause live-threatening situations as well as seriously impair the quality of life of patients. Therefore, there is an urgent need for safer immunotherapies that allow for a more target-specific engineering of the immune system. Strategies to engineer the immune system via a materials chemistry approach, i.e. immuno-engineering, have gathered major attention over the past decade and could complement or replace biologicals, and holds promise to contribute to resolving the current issues faced by the immunotherapy field. The overarching aim of this ERC project is to develop synergistic biomaterials strategies to engineer the immune system to fight cancer. We will address a number of fundamental questions with regard to optimal biomaterial design for immuno-engineering. Based on these findings, we will elucidate those therapeutic strategies that lead to synergistic engineering of innate and adaptive immunity in combination with remodeling the tumor microenvironment to become more responsive to therapeutic interventions.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

We have developed a platform technology for cancer vaccine formulation. Our modular approach allows for the co-formulation of tumor antigens and immunostimulatory drug molecules in a single nanoparticle and efficiently delivers these to immune cells. This platform technology makes use of similar components to those that are currently used in mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. A key component in our technology is ionizable lipids. Libraries of such lipids were developed in the context of this ERC project. We are actively pursuing IP filing for these classes of molecules, and thus far, we have successfully licensed IP to one biotech company that uses the technology for mRNA vaccines and immunotherapy.
In parallel, we have developed a simple strategy to target Toll-Like Receptor agonists to lymphoid tissue by formulating them in lipid nanoparticles. We have thus far demonstrated the therapeutic potential of these adjuvants in the context of cancer vaccination and vaccines against infectious diseases, including COVID-19. In the second part of the project, we have developed a novel class of immunotherapeutics that promote interaction between immune cells and cancer cells, leading to the immune-mediated destruction of the latter. In this context, we are pursuing strategies that rely on active targeting of proteins that are over-expressed on the surface of cancer cells in solid tumors. We are also looking into strategies that make use of more universal hallmarks that are akin to a broad range of solid tumors.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The synthetic biomaterials developed int his ERC project will providing novel insights in how the immune system can be engineered to combat cancer. We are currently developed parallel approaches that activate separate arms of the immune systems.
We aim to converge these approaches in the future aiming at generating a synergistic therapeutic anti-cancer response.

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