Pascal van Peborgh, Senior Director Medical Affairs for Gilead Nordics.

Gilead joins Oslo Cancer Cluster

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Gilead

The newest member of Oslo Cancer Cluster is Gilead, a biopharmaceutical company advancing innovative medicines to prevent and treat life-threatening diseases.

Pascal van Peborgh, Senior Director Medical Affairs for Gilead Nordics answered some questions on why Gilead joins Oslo Cancer Cluster, how they are involved in the cancer field and why the Nordics is an important area for the company.

What is Gilead’s motivation to join Oslo Cancer Cluster (OCC)?

“Gilead’s ambition is to build strong partnerships with cancer research centers and oncology-focused organizations to accelerate research and ultimately provide Norwegian patients with novel therapeutic options. We want to work together with other OCC members on basic research topics and in finding ways to provide better access for patients who suffer from cancer. Part of this ambition was why we partnered in the CONNECT public-private partnership.”

Tell us more about Gilead’s investment in cancer and the company’s oncology pipeline.

“Gilead has a long history of bringing innovation to patients in improving patients’ outcomes and at times provided a cure for people facing specific life-threatening infectious diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis C. Gilead is now applying the same approach and commitment to cancer. We have purposefully built a deep and broad oncology portfolio with a focus on trying to address critical unmet needs in oncology care.

“This framework defines our portfolio, with assets that have complementary MOAs and strong scientific rationale for treatment combination opportunities. From antibody-drug conjugates and small molecules to cell therapy-based approaches, our research and development programs are providing new hope for people with overlooked, underserved, and difficult-to-treat cancers.

“This includes many of the most exciting and most promising targets in oncology today, with strong potential across tumor types, lines of treatment, and multiple opportunities for unique combination therapies. We have investigational agents in trials across varied solid tumors: breast, lung, GI, GU, including bladder, among many others. And in blood cancers: MDS, AML, LBCL, adult lymphoblastic leukemia and more. We are well positioned to establish Gilead as a leading Oncology company.”

What do you think about opportunities in Norway, and the Nordics, for the development of new cancer treatments? How do you view the milieus here for cancer research and health industry?

“We see Norway as a pioneer in Precision Medicine, e.g., the CONNECT and IMPRESS initiatives. It has also a strong history of registry data utilization, e.g., and building further new additions to cancer registry like INSPIRE BC and LC. Norway is also highly ranked for cancer research in Europe, with a government and policies supporting the development of precision medicines and clinical trials, with Inven2 and NorTrial being established as examples.

“In addition, the systematization of care in Norway and especially around Oslo University Hospital provides a central node with adequate infrastructure, expertise, and innovation in the cancer research eco-system and more specifically for translational research and clinical trials. Finally, the Oslo University Hospital being an accredited Comprehensive Cancer Center with an extensive international network provides us with further confidence to invest in cancer research in Norway.“

Do you have an ambition to launch cancer clinical trials in the Nordics?

“Our ambition is to continue to initiate new clinical trials within oncology in the Nordics in greater scope, and more specifically in Norway. We at Gilead, view the Nordic countries as having high-quality infrastructure that supports clinical research and studies. The countries have national support functions that provides information and services to researchers that are interested in clinical research – both for observational studies and for clinical interventional studies.

“Gilead, with its own R&D portfolio or through opt-in agreements has currently more than 70 ongoing oncology R&D programs focusing on three therapeutic strategies: triggering tumor intrinsic cell death, promoting immune-mediated tumor killing, and remodeling of the tumor microenvironment. To be able to fully deliver on this pipeline we will need close collaboration with clinical and academic research.”

 

Learn more about the members of Oslo Cancer Cluster by visiting our Member Overview page.

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Krista Kruuv-Käo, project manager of AnteNOR, presented how polygenic risk scores can be used to prevent breast cancer at a recent meeting organised by the Norwegian Cancer Mission Hub. Photo: Sofia Linden / Oslo Cancer Cluster

Polygenic risk scores: a European cancer priority 

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The EU is looking to polygenic risk scores to improve prevention and early detection of cancer

Polygenic risk scores (PRS) have become one of the focus areas for prevention and early detection of cancer in the European Union’s Mission on Cancer. 

“PRS tests can provide a measure of your personal risk of developing a specific disease due to your genes,” explained Krista Kruuv-Käo, project manager of AnteNOR, a project that investigates how PRS can be implemented for prevention and early detection of breast cancer in Norway. 

Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan outlines 10 flagship initiatives and number 7 focuses on how cancers develop: 

“Alongside the ‘Genomic for Public Health’ project, the European Initiative to Understand Cancer (UNCAN.eu), planned to be launched under the foreseen Mission on Cancer to increase the understanding of how cancers develop, will also help identify individuals at high risk from common cancers using the polygenic risk scores technique. This should facilitate personalised approaches to cancer prevention and care, allowing for actions to be taken to decrease risk or to detect cancer as early as possible.”

What about Norway?

There are about 4 200 new cases and almost 600 deaths due to breast cancer in Norway each year, according to reports from the Norwegian Cancer Registry.  

“Early detection of breast cancer can save lives, but approximately 40 per cent of breast cancer cases in Norway are not detected at an early stage. For breast cancer, 31 per cent of all diagnoses are due to genetic predisposition and many women develop cancer before they reach the screening age of 50,” Kruuv-Käo commented. 

There are already genetic tests in the Norwegian specialist healthcare service for monogenic pathogenic variants, such as BRCA1 and BRCA2, but not on a population-wide basis. PRS tests have not been implemented yet, although they are both cheaper and can identify more women with a moderate to high risk of developing breast cancer. 

Improving cancer screening

The results of the AnteNOR project were recently presented at a meeting organized by the Norwegian Cancer Mission Hub. 

“The project shows that PRS tests can be used for effective risk stratification for population-wide breast screening. By introducing genetic risk testing with PRS tests and monogenic testing, the women with moderate to high risk of developing breast cancer can be identified before the screening age of 50 years. With a personalised screening programme, some women may need to screen earlier and more often, while others can go to screenings less frequently in the future,” Kruuv-Käo explained. 

Estonia is already preparing for the introduction of a personalized breast cancer screening program, and the plan is to launch it this year. Will Norway follow? 

The post Polygenic risk scores: a European cancer priority  first appeared on Oslo Cancer Cluster.

The research group OSCAR (short for Osteosarcoma and CAR) consists of Nadia Mensali, PhD; Sany Joaquina, MSc; Sébastien Wälchli, PhD, and Else Marit Inderberg, PhD.

New targeted therapy against osteosarcoma

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A new cancer treatment against osteosarcoma has been developed in the labs of Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator.

A new target for CAR therapy against osteosarcoma has been discovered in the Translational Research Unit at the Department of Cellular Therapy (Olso University Hospital). The results of their research, which was completed in the laboratories of Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator, were recently published in an article in Nature Communications.

“CAR is a new type of molecule. It stands for Chimeric Antigen Receptor. It is part of a bigger family of cancer treatments called immunotherapy, in which you use the immune system of the patient to fight cancer,” explained Sébastien Wälchli, who has co-led this research project with Else Marit Inderberg.

A unique molecule

Chimeric antigen receptor therapy (CAR T) is a cancer treatment in which a patient’s T cells (a type of immune cell often referred to as the “foot soldiers” of the immune system) are changed in the laboratory so they will attack cancer cells.

“In the case of the CAR, we help the immune system to recognize cancer cells by putting in a completely artificial receptor. The key part of the receptor is the recognition site, so it will guide the immune cell to the tumour. Normally, we need a molecule that can recognize a cancer marker. The molecule of choice is an antibody,” said Wälchli.

The antibody that Wälchli’s group used was first isolated by clinical researcher and sarcoma expert Prof. Øyvind Bruland in 1986.

”We designed the CAR based on this antibody by using its coding sequence. This antibody is quite unique because it recognizes the marker on the surface of lung metastasis of osteosarcoma. We created a Osteosarcoma CAR (OSCAR) molecule to see if we could use the power of this antibody in immunotherapy and the results published in Nature Communications prove that we can,” explained Wälchli.

A full preclinical validation

The preclinical development of the treatment took place in the laboratories of Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator which are fully equipped for such a process.

“We did a full preclinical validation of OSCAR using devices installed at the incubators for the in vitro and further tested it in vivo using different animal models where we mimicked what would happen in human. Our colleagues in Barcelona tested the injection of tumour cells directly into the bone of mice and observed a lower progression of cancer in the mice treated with OSCAR T cells, than we,” said Wälchli.

Furthermore, the group did experiments to check the toxicity of OSCAR T cells.

“We tried to predict using different healthy tissues if this CAR would only recognize tumour cells and spare healthy tissues. We concluded that it was safe, but before you inject it in human, you will never know for sure,” said Wälchli.

What is osteosarcoma?

Osteosarcoma is a bone cancer and affects many children and older people. It is quite well-treated with chemotherapy, but when it metastasizes to the lungs, it becomes more difficult to treat. Surgery can slow down the progression, but the cancer can reappear.

“This is where our hearts brought us. We are not choosing cancer by patient. We always talk with the clinicians. When we first discussed with Bruland, we did not know much about osteosarcoma. He told us about patients who have absolutely no alternative,” Wälchli explained.

There are other CARs in development against osteosarcoma globally, and some have already reached clinical phase, but none cover all patients.

“In the seminal paper of Bruland in 1986, they checked the biobank and estimated that 90 per cent of all osteosarcoma patients were positive to this antigen. This was confirmed by our collaborators in Spain. According to the first estimate, it looks like this marker is the most important that has been described so far,” said Wälchli.

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Annbjørg Falck presented the Norwegian company NaDeNo during the International Cancer Cluster Showcase 2023.

Oncology innovators presented in Boston

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Three Nordic start-ups pitched at the International Cancer Cluster Showcase 2023.

This year’s International Cancer Cluster Showcase (ICCS) featured 20 emerging oncology companies that presented their recent innovations, partnering and investment opportunities on 5 June 2023 in Boston, as a satellite event to BIO International Convention. 

The companies were selected by innovation hubs in the United States (Massachusetts & Philadelphia), Quebec, Norway, the UK Golden Triangle, Switzerland, France, and Taiwan. 

“BIO International Convention is one of the largest gatherings of biotechnology and life sciences professionals from around the world. It provides an excellent platform for companies to network with potential partners, investors, customers, and collaborators. Via being part of the ICCS program emerging oncology companies get special visibility and exposure at the start of BIO. For those searching for collaboration, partnering and investment opportunities ICCS is an efficient format to meet 20 companies from international hubs and learn about their latest science, technologies, and (mostly preclinical) assets,” commented Jutta Heix, Head of International Affairs, Oslo Cancer Cluster and coordinator of the ICCS programme. 

Jutta Heix, Head of International Affairs at Oslo Cancer Cluster, welcomed the audience to the 12th International Cancer Cluster Showcase.

Promising Norwegian companies

NaDeNo, Hemispherian and One-Carbon Therapeutics represented the Nordic region during the event, which included four-minute pitches from each company. 

“Attending the BIO International conference for the first time as a small Norwegian start-up we highly appreciated the opportunity to share our story to a larger audience! Being visible in this way accelerates new relationships and valuable networking, and it really kick-started the conference for us. Many thanks to OCC for giving us this opportunity,” commented Annbjørg Falck, CEO and co-founder of NaDeNo.  

Adam Robertson, CSO of Hemispherian, presented one of the Nordic companies.

“The International Cancer Cluster Showcase presents a tremendous opportunity for Hemispherian to showcase our pharmaceutical development program on a global stage. This international exposure serves to highlight the exceptional nature of our technology and the expertise of our team. We are thrilled to have the privilege of presenting alongside other outstanding companies, which also provides us with a platform to showcase the rapidly growing Norwegian biotechnology sector. The event allows us to further establish Hemispherian’s reputation, attract attention to our innovative approach, and foster collaborations in the fight against cancer,” commented Adam Robertson, CSO of Hemispherian. 

Returning to Boston

This was the 12th edition of the International Cancer Cluster Showcase. Since 2012, the event has presented about 200 oncology start-ups and biotech companies as a satellite event to BIO International Convention and now returned to Boston where this format was started. The event connects emerging oncology companies from different innovation hubs with potential partners from the global oncology community gathering at BIO. 

The International Cancer Cluster Showcase 2023 was organized by Cambridge Innovation Partners, Montréal InVivo, The Wistar Institute, Oslo Cancer Cluster, OBN, Biopôle and Matwin. 

The event was kindly sponsored by Precision for Medicine, BIO and The Wistar Institute. 

 

 

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