During the period covered by the report, SIMICA’s team has defined a long-term strategy in the scientific area of protein-drug conjugates. Several different goals have been accomplished. Efforts have been made to benefit from the techniques available across the consortium, and to stablish new collaborations, in order to gain access to other expertise that are not yet available within SIMICA. In particular, a IMM postdoctoral researcher has visit the University of Cambridge. Additionally, a collaborative work between IMM and Allcyte was stablished to evaluate the efficacy of a covalent binding BTK inhibitor using primary samples from patients with diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL). Under the course of the project a research contract has been also stablished between IMM and a US biopharma company (Neoleukin Therapeutics) to evaluate the efficacy of de novo therapeutic proteins against SARS-CoV-2 using animal models of disease currently implemented at IMM. Another important achievement was the prospect contact from IN-PART, a scouting company working with Johnson & Johnson for identification of potential academic partners working in the field of immunotherapies. On this regard, the SIMICA consortium worked together to submit a grant application for a call sponsored by J & J. Also of relevance, research groups at IMM have been contacted in order to promote future collaborations, aiming to improve the exploitation of the project and its results on the field of protein modification within IMM.
The consortium has also been responsible for regular communications on social media platforms and the project’s website, with the intention to maximize SIMICA’s impact, reaching not only the scientific community but the general public as well. Additionally, several training actions have been organized to improve the competences of IMM researchers in scientific writing and science communication. Lastly, in order to improve the researchers’ skills in the study area, the consortium has encouraged the participation in external conferences on the field.
The work previously developed enhanced the scientific capacity of IMM and increased the visibility of Portuguese research on the field of protein conjugation both nationally and internationally. For the next reporting period the consortium is preparing a summer school, a thematic workshop and interactive sessions with industry/enterprises to further promote innovation and entrepreneurship spirit within IMM. Similarly, staff exchanges, training actions and outreach activities will continue. Overall, the SIMICA consortium was able to mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic and successfully implement all the activities initially proposed.
