Project description
LEGO-based immunotherapics against cancer
Cancer incidence is rising globally, and despite advances in treatments, there are many side effects that hamper their effectiveness. Immunotherapy has emerged as a promising anticancer strategy, but efficacy and toxicity issues remain to be addressed. The EU-funded THERA-LEGO project will build on previous experience to produce antibody recruiting glycodendrimers (ARGs) using a molecular LEGO approach capable of binding endogenous antibodies and redirecting them against tumours. ARGs form ternary complexes with cancer cells, causing cell death. Scientists will screen these synthetic ARG structures in humanised models of cancer before proceeding with clinical development.
Objective
Cancer remains a major cause of mortality worldwide, with projections estimating that 40% of population will be diagnosed with a form of cancer during their lifetime. Despite significant progress in treatment modalities, current therapeutic regimens are still deficient due to intolerable side effects, while stray cancer cells often escape destruction. Immunotherapy-based approaches certainly represent the most promising alternatives in this area although very limited approaches are available. In addition, major issues remain to be addressed such as the lack of efficiency and autoimmune toxicity for a large population of patients. In the ERC Consolidator grant “LEGO”, we have demonstrated that fully synthetic structures with unprecedented combinations have immunological properties against cancers. We have developed a “molecular LEGO” approach to construct Antibody Recruiting Glycodendrimers (ARGs) embedded with key structural parameters and capable of redirecting endogenous antibodies present in the human bloodstream against tumors without preliminary immunization. Among a variety ARGs, we have identified two lead compound that: 1/ recruit natural Abs with a cluster of oligosaccharides; 2/ target cancer receptors with a cluster of peptides; 3/ promote the formation of a ternary complex between natural Abs and cancer cells; 4/ promote up to 60% of cytotoxicity towards cancer cells in vitro. Within THERA-LEGO, we aim to investigate the commercial feasibility and the in vivo properties of our lead compounds (toxicity, stability, biodistribution, pharmacokinetics/dynamics, immunogenicity) in humanized mice models, to facilitate the transfer of the technology to a company and the initiation of clinical development. The work to be done in this project will advance our assets from a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 3 to 5 and will enable us to create an exploitation strategy (relying either on commercialization through own spin-off or licensing to a pharma company).
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: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- social sciences sociology demography mortality
- medical and health sciences basic medicine immunology immunisation
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmacokinetics
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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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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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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.
Funding Scheme
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.
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.
ERC-POC - Proof of Concept Grant
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2020-PoC
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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.
38058 GRENOBLE
France
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.