New collaboration aims to treat cervical cancer

A new drug combination from Vaccibody and Roche may help to treat patients with cervical cancer.

February 15, 2019/in cancer vaccine, cervical cancer, clinical trial, Clinical Trials, immune checkpoint inhibitor, immunotherapy, News, Roche, Vaccibody /by oslocancer

The companies Vaccibody and Roche have started a new collaboration to investigate a drug combination to treat patients with advanced cervical cancer.

Both companies are members of Oslo Cancer Cluster and are involved in the development of novel cancer treatments.

Martin Bonde, CEO of Vaccibody, said: “We are very pleased with this collaboration. This is an important study as it explores a novel targeted treatment approach that addresses the high medical need of patients with advanced cervical cancer.”

Cervical cancer is the most commonly occurring cancer among women in developing countries and is the second most commonly occurring cancer amongst women worldwide.

Vaccibody is a vaccine company that aims to develop and discover new immunotherapies to treat difficult forms of cancer. They have developed a therapeutic DNA vaccine that treats cancers caused by HPV (the human papillomavirus).

Cervical cancer is caused by high risk HPV. HPV16 is the type that most frequently causes cancer.

Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that aims to switch on a patient’s immune system to kill cancer cells.

Roche is a healthcare company that has developed an immune-checkpoint inhibitor. Now Vaccibody wants to test their vaccine in combination with the immune-checkpoint inhibitor designed by Roche.

An immune checkpoint inhibitor is a type of drug that blocks certain proteins made by some types of cancer cells. When these proteins are blocked, the “brakes” on the immune system are released and T cells are able to kill cancer cells better.

Agnete Fredriksen, President and CSO of Vaccibody, said that the combination of the two drugs build on the positive results seen when their vaccine has been used on patients with cervical cancer. Therefore they now expect to see positive results when they combine the vaccine with an immune checkpoint inhibitor.

During the second half of 2019, Vaccibody expects to begin the phase II study, which will involve 50 patients. It will assess the safety of the drug, its ability to invoke a response in the immune system, how the patients tolerate it and how efficient the drug is. The group for this new drug combination involves patients with advanced cervical cancer.

Raised NOK 230 million

Vaccibody also raised NOK 230 million (EUR 23.6 Million) in a private placement the same week. The sum was indeed placed all within one day, according to Agnete Fredriksen.

The proceeds from the share sales will be used to conduct the phase II clinical study of the drug combination from Vaccibody and Roche. The money will also go to the preparation of expansion patient groups in Vaccibody’s clinical trials and to generate corporate purposes.

For more information, read the press release from Vaccibody.

The pupils Kalina Topalova Casadiego, Ida Hustad Andresen,Andreas Bernhus and Dina Düring had the opportunity to experiment with fruit flies at the Institute for Cancer Research in Oslo.

Operation fruit flies

February 15, 2019/in cancer research, News, Oslo Cancer Cluster, School collaboration, Ullern Upper Secondary School /by Elisabeth Kirkeng Andersen

Fruit flies are not only annoying little insects that appear when bananas are overripe. They are also popular research tools for cancer researchers.

The four pupils Kalina Topalova Casadiego, Ida Hustad Andresen, Andreas Bernhus and Dina Düring got to experience how cancer researchers look at fruit flies during their work placement in January.

“Let’s turn on the gas, and then I’ll put some fruit flies on the pad under your microscope.” Speaking is cancer researcher Lene Malrød who, together with her colleague Nina Marie Pedersen, is responsible for four pupils from Ullern Secondary School on work placements.

“Gosh! They’re moving,” proclaims one of the pupils.

But not for long. Soon, all the fruit flies are anaesthetised and, eventually, dead; then the pupils are tasked with surgically removing the ovaries of the female flies. It is easier said than done, even with the help of microscopes to enhance the tiny flies. Especially when the operating tools are two tweezers.

The fruit flies are kept in test tubes.

An exciting placement

It is the third day of the pupils’ work placement at the Institute for Cancer Research, located next to the school. For four days at the end of January, they have learnt about cancer research and which methods researchers use in their daily work.

“The work placement is not like we imagined,” says Kalina and Ida.

“There’s a lot more manual work than I would have thought, and then you realise how important research is through what we do,” says Ida.

She is the only one who is specialising in biology in combination with with other science subjects, and she finds this very useful when working in the lab together with researchers. The other three have had to catch up on the reading, but they all agree that it is very exciting.

“Yesterday, we learnt a lot about CRISPR, which is a new method for cutting and splicing genes. Media gives you the impression that this is a highly precise tool, but the researchers here say that a lot can go wrong, and that it’s not at all as precise as you might think,” says Ida.

A student looks at fruit flies under a microscope

The students look at the fruit flies under a microscope.

From Western Blot to flies

A total of twelve pupils were picked out for this work placement. They have been chosen based on motivation and grades, and they all have a wish to study something related to medicine or science after they finish upper secondary school.

The twelve students are divided into three groups with completely different activities and get to learn a number of different research methods. The group consisting of Ida, Kalina, Andreas, and Dina, for instance, is the only group which will have a go in the fly lab.

“Am I really supposed to remove the ovaries? I don’t see how,” one of the pupils say, equally discouraged and excited.

Andreas, on the other hand, is in complete control. First, he has separated the males and the females with a paint brush. He has then used the tweezers to remove the heads from the females, punctured the bottom to remove the intestines, and finally found the ovaries in the abdomen.

Lene gathers all the different body parts for the pupils to look at through a different microscope. These fruit flies are in fact genetically manipulated to glow in the dark – they are fluorescent.

If you are wondering why researchers use fruit flies as part of their research, you can read more about it in this article from Forskning.no (the article is written in Norwegian).

“It is so much fun to be here, and we are really lucky to get this opportunity,” says Dina on her way from the fly lab to another lab to carry out another experiment.

The pupils on the work placement have uploaded many nice photos and videos on Ullern Secondary School’s Instagram account – visit their account to see more from the placement.

All photos: Fullscreen Visuals

The speakers’ top topics

The speakers discussed new insights into sensitivity and resistance and features of the tumour microenvironment critical for the clinical course. They also discussed emerging tissue agnostic biomarkers, where «tissue agnostic” refers to the ability to develop therapies based upon biomarkers or other molecular targets to treat a disease. A biomarker is a measurable indicator of a biological state or condition.

Other topics were learnings from cancer molecular evolution studies, and how big data approaches are used to improve patient care. Together with an engaged audience, the presenters were really connecting the dots for improved patient care in precision oncology.

Professor Naiyer Rizvi, Director of thoracic oncology and of immunotherapeutics for the division of haematology and oncology at Columbia University Medical Center, New York, gave the opening keynote in the form of a video presentation. He is an internationally recognized leader in the treatment of lung cancer and immunotherapy drug development.

In his presentation, titled: “Sensitivity and resistance to immuno-oncology: Biological insights and their translation into precision treatment”, Prof. Rizvi also addressed the question “What happens when the doctors expect the patient to respond to immunotherapy, but then the patient does not?”

WATCH PROF. RIZVI

Dr. Aaron Goodman, MD, is a haematologist and medical oncologist specialized in treating a variety of blood cancers. He holds a position as Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health in La Jolla, California.

During his talk, Dr. Goodman presented tumour mutational burden and other emerging tissue agnostic biomarkers for response to cancer immunotherapy and how to implement these into the clinic. He also spoke about his experience from the Rare Tumour Clinic in San Diego, where they perform a comprehensive molecular profiling for about 22-25% of cancer patients with rare tumours. The goal is to identify a matching therapy for each patient.

After his presentation, Dr. Goodman commented to Oslo Cancer Cluster:

“We started by doing data collections and help patients and learn at the same time. It is a benefit that we at least have the patient’s data and experience with that patient so that we can go forward and help the next patient.” Aaron Goodman

WATCH DR. GOODMAN

Dr. Randy F. Sweis is an Assistant Professor in the haematology/oncology section at the University of Chicago. He works with cancer immunology, developmental therapeutics and biomarkers, with a clinical interest in phase 1 clinical trials and genitourinary malignancies. His laboratory research involves the identification and targeting of tumour-intrinsic immunotherapy resistance pathways.

During Cancer Crosslinks, Dr. Sweis presented his work on immunophenotypes: “The T cell-inflamed tumour microenvironment as a biomarker and its clinical implications.”

WATCH DR. SWEIS

Dr. Marco Gerlinger is a clinician scientist at the Center for Evolution and Cancer at the Institute of Cancer Research in London and a consultant Medical Oncologist in the GI Cancer Unit at Royal Marsden Hospital. He develops novel techniques to detect and track intra-tumour heterogeneity in solid tumours to define evolutionary plasticity and common evolutionary trajectories in cancers. Cancer cell plasticity is the ability of cancer cells to change their physiological characteristics.

Dr. Gerlinger shared the latest insights into cancer evolution and discussed the limits of predictability in precision cancer medicine. How can clinicians and researchers exploit important data on tumour development?

During his visit in Oslo, Dr. Gerlinger commented: “We have had fantastic discussions with an audience that is really well informed and brings up the challenges we are facing and the research we are doing.”

“This is the first time I have given a talk in Norway and obviously there is a lot going on here. I am already thinking about some collaborations, because there are some interesting advantages here through big tumour banks and cancer registries.” Dr. Marco Gerlinger

WATCH DR. GERLINGER

Professor Dr. med. Lars Bullinger is Professor of Hematology and Oncology and Medical Director of the Department of Hematology, Oncology and Tumor Immunology at Charité University Medicine Berlin.

He is a partner in the Innovative Medicines Initiative project HARMONY (Healthcare alliance for resourceful medicines offensive against neoplasms in haematology) aiming to use big data to deliver information that will help to improve the care of patients with haematologic cancers.

In his keynote speech he presented the “best of hematology from 2018” to the Cancer Crosslinks audience. He also addressed emerging therapeutic opportunities and the impact of big data for precision treatment in haematology.

WATCH PROF. DR. MED. LARS BULLINGER

James Peach is the Precision Medicine Lead at UK Medicines Discovery Catapult, Alderly Park, UK. Prior to this role, he was the Managing Director at the main programme for Genomics England from 2013 to 2017. He presented his perspectives on the implementation of precision medicine in the UK and discussed the status, lessons learned and the way forward.

WATCH JAMES PEACH

The expert panel
You can read more about how the Norwegian expert panel reacted to James Peach’s presentation and the state of precision medicine in Norway in the article below, also from Cancer Crosslinks 2019. The article contains a video of the panel debate.

Getting genomics into healthcare: look to the UK

Raphael Lømo from Kuehne + Nagel gave a presentation at Oslo Cancer Cluster's Christmas gathering in 2018. Photo: Fullscreen Visuals

Why a logistics company joined the cluster

January 30, 2019/in Logistics, Members, News, Oslo Cancer Cluster /by Wenche Gerhardsen

Kuehne + Nagel joined Oslo Cancer Cluster last year. Why did a logistics company join a cluster dedicated to cancer treatment?

Kuehne + Nagel is one of the world’s leading logistics providers, and pharmaceuticals are certainly a category of product that requires special care when moved between locations.

This is an interview with Raphael Lømo, the National Manager for Pharma & Healthcare Development Logistics for Kuehne + Nagel in Norway.

“Why did you join a cluster dedicated to cancer treatment?”

“Being one of the leading logistics companies in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry, we realized that a membership in Oslo Cancer Cluster is beneficial for both the other members and us. The members get access to an international good distribution practice (GDP)-compliant pharmaceutical logistics network and professional support within the pharmaceutical supply chain. At the same time, Kuehne + Nagel gets linked to the currently leading and possible future players in the oncology field, which will help us to increase our understanding and to proactively try to design solutions for the members in this industry. Members can focus on their core competences which is in the R&D field while we offer to take care of the distribution challenges, which is our core competence. Kuehne + Nagel’s membership linked our industries and completed your oncology value chain.”

“We are also very interested in working with start-up companies which are supported by Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator. It is inspiring to be involved in interesting and innovative projects and at the same time it helps us to keep the finger on the pulse of the pharmaceutical industry. It would not be the first time that we successfully accompanied a start-up by offering pharmaceutical specific supply chain counselling and consulting services.”

“Last but not least, it feels really good to contribute to improve the lives of often very sick cancer patients, which we have been doing for many years in the prostate cancer field. We can identify ourselves with your vision to help patients by accelerating the development of cancer treatments.” Raphael Lømo

“What does logistics innovation have to do with cancer medicine?”

“Well, based on our experience, cancer medicines are often extremely urgent, temperature sensitive and sometimes even classified as dangerous goods shipments, e.g. radioactive. This combination makes it quite challenging to design safe solutions and both visibility, risk control, and reliable handling are the most important factors to protect the integrity of cancer medicines. We constantly work on innovative solutions to improve the level of control of these factors, such as new IT systems and Internet of Things (IoT) real-time tracking devices. ”

Part of Kuehne + Nagel’s solution for safe logistics. Photo: Kuehne + Nagel

“I understand that there are some “pharma shipment enemies” in the logistics industry: Temperature, time, handling and dangerous goods. What is your solution to these challenges in shipping pharmaceuticals?”

“Most importantly, you need a reliable logistics partner which understands the full scope of GDP and the challenges of shipping pharmaceuticals globally. Due to our close relationship to all major airlines, ground handlings agents, and trucking companies, in extreme cases we can customize solutions for very sensitive shipments. Such solutions will be complimented with state of the art tracking technology which transmits both location and other relevant data in real-time to KN Login, our data and IT solution that provides visibility and control of your shipment. There you can follow your shipments 24/7/365. Moreover, a team of trained pharmaceutical logistics specialists can monitor your shipment and provide status updates if required. In case of any deviation of the shipment plan, this global service desk can proactively take action to get your shipment back on track. Our award winning KN PharmaChain solution is the basis for every challenge in the pharmaceutical supply chain industry.”

“We have a vast database that includes the most important information and capabilities of major airlines and ground handling agents at the most important airports around the world. This is a unique database and provides very valuable information in order to plan shipments and conduct Lane Risk Assessments. As an example, with one click we know the capacity for storing pharmaceuticals at certain temperature ranges at warehouses of different airlines and airports all over the world. This tool helps us to analyses shipment processes and mitigate potential risks.”

“Do you have any advice to companies looking to send fragile drugs or other pharmaceuticals?”

“Look for a reliable and experienced logistics partner with a global “owned” network which fully understands the requirements of shipping fragile pharmaceuticals but also follows the Good Distribution Practice (GDP), not only in Norway but globally. We highly recommend to conduct a GDP audit before working with a potential logistics partner. Norwegian logistics companies are not audited by the Norwegian Medicines Authorities and often do not understand and follow the full scope of the GDP guideline. Keep in mind that it is in the responsibility of the pharmaceutical company and not the logistics company that the products are transported under GDP compliant conditions.”

About the company

Kuehne+Nagel is listed on the Swiss stock exchange, but the majority is still owned by Mr. Klaus-Michael Kuehne.

Since 1890, when the business was founded in Bremen, Germany, by August Kuehne and Friedrich Nagel, Kuehne + Nagel has grown into one of the world’s leading logistics providers.

Today, the Kuehne + Nagel Group has some 1,300 offices in over 100 countries, with around 79,000 employees.

The company specialises in seafreight, airfreight, contract logistics and overland businesses, with a clear focus on high value-added segments such as IT-based integrated logistics solutions.

KN PharmaChain is Kuehne+Nagel’s supply chain innovation for pharmaceutical and healthcare shipments.

The panel discussion during Cancer Crosslinks 2019 was about the need to implement precision diagnostic methods in Norwegian health care. In the panel from the left: Kristin Vinje, Vice-Dean at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Oslo, Bjørn Tore Gjertsen (hidden in picture), Professor at Haukeland University Hospital and University of Bergen, Hege G. Russnes, Senior Consultant and Researcher at Oslo University Hospital, Ola Myklebost, Professor at University of Bergen and Christian Kersten, Senior Consultant at Center for Cancer Treatment, Sørlandet Hospital. All photos: Fullscreen Visuals

Getting genomics into healthcare: look to the UK

January 21, 2019/in Cancer Crosslinks, Immuno-Oncology, News, Oslo Cancer Cluster /by Wenche Gerhardsen

During Cancer Crosslinks 2019, one thing was crystal clear: there is a need to include broader genomic testing into treatments for cancer patients in Norway.

“We are lacking behind here in Norway!”

Professor Ola Myklebost, from the Department of Clinical Science at the University of Bergen, was definitely ready for action in the panel debate at Cancer Crosslinks 2019, fittingly named “Call for Action”.

The panel and the audience of about 300 people had just listened to the talk given by James Peach. He is the Precision Medicine Lead at UK Medicines Discovery Catapult, Alderly Park, and prior to this, he was the Managing Director at the main programme for Genomics England from 2013 to 2017 and led the UK’s Stratified Medicines Program.

Peach told the audience how they have been implementing precision medicine into the public health care system (NHS) in the UK, using genomic testing, during the last decade. He demonstrated how the industry is part of this public endeavour, how political support and investment contributed to industry development, and how they addressed complex issues like sharing health data and using artificial intelligence.

It started with very little.

“In 2010, we had no structure”, Peach told the audience.

Sequencing 100,000 genomes

Thanks to all the British cancer patients who consented to Genomics England using their data, and a lot of common public-private efforts, Genomics England has now reached its goal of sequencing 100,000 whole genomes from NHS patients, according to their webpage. It takes a lot to accomplish this number, but luckily there are things to learn from the UK effort.

“Circulating tumour DNA testing is absolutely necessary”, Peach said from the podium.

The Life Science Sector deal from the British government outlines this public-private effort. It shows how significant government commitment, funding and strategic actions triggered investment and initiatives from the life science industry. You can read the entire document at the official webpage of the British Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, following this link.

James Peach visited Norway earlier as a speaker at Cancer Crosslinks 2012. Returning now, he was truly surprised about the current state of precision medicine in Norway.

Concerned about Norway

In an interview with Oslo Cancer Cluster, James Peach shared a concern as an answer to the question “What impressions are you left with after this conference?”

“It has left me quite concerned about the state of precision medicine in Norway. I thought you would be looking forward to the things you could do, but it turns out that there are actually some things that you should have done already.”

“Like what things?”

“Like universal application of a cancer panel test that is commercially feasible and deals around getting your data shared appropriately.”

“Do you think we can have a Genomics Norway?”

“Of course. It is probably about combining two things. One is that you got to get the basic stuff right. People need to have access to gene tests for their clinical care. Luckily the people here are a group of experts who are all connected to each other and who understand the system. It is not a massive system. I think there is a real chance to choose an area where Norway could do it exceptionally well. What that area is, is for you to choose.”

Concerns in Norway

Back in the panel discussion, Hege G. Russnes, Pathologist, Senior Consultant and Researcher at Oslo University Hospital, was getting involved:

“We need more information to help clinicians make therapy decisions. (…) Norway has no plan or recommendation for multi gene tests.”

Christian Kersten, Senior Consultant at the Center for Cancer Treatment at Sørlandet Hospital, agreed.

“I’m the clinician, I treat patients, patients die because of metastasis. I have been treating cancer patients for 20 years now and I feel it increasingly difficult to keep the trust of the patient.”

“If you ask the patients, they will sign the papers with consent of sharing data in 99% of the cases”, Myklebost added.

“We are only 5 million, we do not have to reinvent the wheel. Erna Solberg should invite James Peach for a cup of tea”, Christian Kersten said, finishing up the panel talk.

The entire panel debate is available to watch at the webcast webpage:

WATCH THE PANEL DEBATE

More on UK Medicines Discovery Catapult

Did this brief article make you interested in the work that James Peach and UK Medicines Discovery Catapult does? In this short video, Peach explains the challenges with access to health data for drug discovery and how to overcome them:

More from Cancer Crosslinks

We have more from Cancer Crosslinks 2019 coming up. Stay tuned and subscribe to our newsletter, and you will not miss videos of the talks and interviews with the other distinguished speakers at the conference.

NOME is based on the mentoring principals of MIT’s Venture Mentoring Service. The fundamental principle is to connect first time entrepreneurs with a team of three to four experienced and skilled mentors to help them reach their goals and technology milestones. Photo: Accelerace

Why a Nordic mentor network is a good idea

January 21, 2019/in News, NOME, Oslo Cancer Cluster, Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator /by Wenche Gerhardsen

The Nordic Mentor Network of Entrepreneurship (NOME) is the first pan-Nordic mentor network for lifescience start-ups. Why is it a good idea for start-ups working in cancer?

Bjørn Klem has an answer. He is the General Manager of Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator and point of contact for start-ups within the cancer field in Norway.

“Start-ups working in cancer need to access commercialisation expertise and investor networks. When looking for this, it is an advantage to seek in other Nordic countries where investors are experienced with cancer and biotech in general. Participating in NOME will also take you into their global network.” Bjørn Klem

Connecting with a mentor team

From Boston to the Nordics, this is the first mentor network within life sciences that spans across all the Nordic countries.

In Norway, Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator og the health incubator Aleap are coordinating start-ups with suitable mentors.

“Team mentorship, where mentees have a group of mentors, rather than single one-on-one mentorship, encourages more diverse thinking, cross-disciplinary approaches to ideas and problem solving, and it allows the access to professionals from different fields.” NOME Magazine Issue 1 2018

Norwegian mentors and start-ups

One of the Norwegian NOME mentors is Kari Grønås. She has extensive experience in drug development and commercialisation within the pharmaceutical industry.

You can listen to her (in Norwegian) in this video that was made by Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator as the programme was just starting in Norway in 2017.

One of the Oslo Cancer Cluster members that have taken advantage of the NOME opportunity and mentors, is Nacamed.

Nacamed is a Norwegian spin-off company of Dynatec AS. The Nacamed technology is based on 10 years of research on silicon done by Dynatec engineering. According to the company webpage, this enables a production that can tailor particles with the desired physical attributes. With this, Nacamed aims to create a new generation of treatment methods.

Best in class-network

This video, made by Accelerate, explains the concept of NOME and the value it adds to the Nordic startup ecosystem.

The mentors are volunteering to share their knowledge and experience with new entrepreneurs within fields such as digital health, immuno-oncology and AI in healthcare. NOME mentors can give unbiased advice, provide strategic guidance, open their network and possible collaboration partners, as well as assisting in reaching key milestones.

The start-ups have to be best in class too. The local NOME partners evaluate the companies on the novelty of the science or technology, their high commercial potential as well as the strength and commitment of the founding team. Furthermore, strong IP or alternative protection strategies, market differentiation, and the impact NOME potentially can have on the company’s development are also taken into consideration.

Participation is free of charge and funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

Source: The NOME Magazine, Issue 01, 2018

20 start-ups since 2016

Since 2016, 20 start-ups have joined NOME and of these two have graduated from the program. Graduation usually means the start-up has successfully raised funds for the coming few years and has engaged a formal board and therefore has less need for the NOME mentors.

The mentors either move on to work with other emerging companies or have been so excited about the potential of the company they have been working with that they have taken a seat on the board.

By the end of 2018, NOME had 50 mentors and 18 enrolled start-ups.

Mentors in immuno-oncology

In the NOME Magazine first edition, released in October, Carl Borrebaeck, professor at Department of Immuno-technology at Lund University in Sweden, is interviewed about his field of expertise, immuno-oncology and creating companies from his research. Borrebaeck is a founding mentor in NOME and has been part of the network for the past two years.

“People tend to think, that innovation just happens and that it will reach patients without any commercial drive. That is simply untrue.” Prof. Carl Borrebaeck

He continues to explain what is really needed to make health innovations happen:

“A combination of companies and academia is needed. Big pharma is always looking for the newest discoveries and ways they can collaborate in order to stay at the forefront of innovative research. The Nordics are highly innovative and they have a strong reputation globally. However, there are too few big pharma companies commercializing the science at the very early stages. This is often a major challenge for emerging companies who then have to seek funding not only in the Nordics but across Europe and the US to cover this funding gap.”

Mentors in artificial intelligence

NOME has mentors in several interesting life science fields. Lars Staal Wegner, the CEO of Evaxion Biotech, is another mentor. He started a company dedicated to using artificial intelligence, supercomputers, and big data to fight cancer and infectious diseases. In the NOME Magazine Wegner says:

“It is no longer the pharma industry or the companies producing the off-the-shelf drugs. It is the ones who own the data and know how to convert it to effect, the cloud-based giants that are half life science half tech. This is maybe 30-40 years into the future, but it is important already now to know that the tech evolution is not linear. It is exponential. We have reached an inflection point in tech. The industry doesn’t have five or ten years to toe the line. It is exploding.”

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are expected to have an unprecedented impact on how drugs are developed, their cost, and time to market, according to Wegner.

Nordic partnership

NOME is operated by Accelerace and funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation. The initiative is represented in the Nordic region through partnerships in Sweden, Norway and Finland. In Norway, Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator og the health incubator Aleap are coordinating start-ups with suitable mentors.

In the US, the California Life Sciences Institute (CLSI) is a new partner for NOME. In fact it is too new to have entered the overview below. CLSI is a non-profit organization which supports entrepreneurship, STEM education and workforce development for the life science industry in California. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Source: The NOME Magazine, Issue 01, 2018

Aaron M. Goodman, MD, speaks at Cancer Crosslinks 2019 about his research from UC San Diego Health.

Cancer Crosslinks LIVE streaming

January 17, 2019/in Cancer Crosslinks, News, Oslo Cancer Cluster /by oslocancer

Today, Thursday 17 January, we broadcast LIVE from our conference Cancer Crosslinks at Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park.

Please join us and hear from a distinguished panel of international and Norwegian experts as they discuss the Next Wave of Precision Oncology, share new perspectives, and address the challenges and opportunities ahead. The subtitle of this year’s 11th Cancer Crosslinks is “Next Wave Precision Oncology – Connecting the Dots for Improved Patient Care”.

The broadcast starts at 9 AM and last until the conference ends at about 4 PM. Please follow the link to watch LIVE:

LIVESTREAM HERE

If you would like to know more about the international speakers at Cancer Crosslinks 2019, please read this article.

New research from the immunomonitoring unit of the Department of Cellular Therapy at Oslo University Hospital is now available in a video and an article in the the Journal of Visualized Experiments, Jove. Photo: Christopher Olssøn.

New research: 3D structure tumors in immunotherapy

January 2, 2019/in cancer research, CAR T cells, Immuno-Oncology, New cancer research, News, Oslo Cancer Cluster /by Joseph Mark Robertson

New work from cancer researchers at the Department of Cellular Therapy could help to streamline the development of exciting new immunotherapy approaches for treating cancer.

Cancer treatments that aim to switch on a patient’s immune system to kill tumor cells – so-called immunotherapy approaches – have received much attention and encouraging results in recent years. Now, the immunomonitoring unit of the Department of Cellular Therapy at Oslo University Hospital has devised a new experimental approach that could improve early stages of the immunotherapy development pipeline.

The unit is present in Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator with a translational research lab, led by Drs. Else Marit Inderberg and Sébastien Wälchli.

Dr. Sébastien Wälchli and colleagues in the translational research lab in Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator. Photo: Christopher Olssøn

CAR T cells drive new successes

Our immune systems are generally very good at recognizing foreign infectious agents and disposing of them appropriately. However, although our immune systems are capable of recognizing tumors as a threat, cancer cells have adapted mechanisms that enable them to evade the immune response. Immunotherapy is the name given to a range of different approaches that aim to overcome this problem by improving the immune system’s ability to target cancer cells.

One relatively new example of an immunotherapy approach comes from CAR T cells. These are produced by isolating specific cells of the immune system (T cells) from a cancer patient and modifying them so that they become more effective at recognizing and killing cancer cells. The modified T cells are then placed back into the patient so that they can ‘home in’ on the tumor and kill the cancer cells.

Read about related research: T-cells and the Nobel Price

Difficult for solid cancers

Current models for testing new CAR T cells aren’t always optimal. Although CAR T cells have shown encouraging results in treating some cancers, particularly the blood cancers leukemia and lymphoma, the development of CAR T cells for non-blood, or ‘solid’, cancers has been more difficult.

In part, this is due to the fact that tumor models currently used in early stages of testing involve two-dimensional monolayers of cancer cells, which do not reflect the complex three-dimensional structure and organization of solid tumors found in patients.

Consequently, CAR T cells that show encouraging results using these two-dimensional models often produce less effective results at later stages of the development pipeline, meaning time, effort and resources are wasted.

3D tumor spheroids

To improve the early stages of testing new CAR T cells, Dr. Wälchli’s group has developed a new approach that enables researchers to grow three-dimensional cancer cell structures, or ‘spheroids’, in the lab, and to test the effect that CAR T cells have on killing off these spheroids.

Compared to current two-dimensional methods, the spheroids are more similar in complexity and structure to tumors found in patients.

In a recent publication in the Journal of Visualized Experiments, this group demonstrated for the first time that their spheroid approach has the potential to provide a useful new tool for developing CAR T cells.

They generated spheroids using colorectal cancer cells – a type of cancer for which there is currently no effective CAR T cell therapy available. These cancer cells were modified so that they possessed a molecule on their cell surface called CD19, which is known to be recognized by certain CAR T cells. The researchers then incubated these spheroids with CD19-targeting CAR T cells and used advanced live imaging techniques to track the effect on cancer spheroids.

To help other research groups who would like to start using the spheroid technique, Dr. Wälchli’s publication is accompanied by this video which introduces the approach and provides a basic overview of how it works. The Journal of Visualized Experiments requires a subscription to see the entire video. You can also read a PDF of the article “A Spheroid Killing Assay by CAR T Cells” without a subscription.

Successful approach

As expected, shortly after adding CAR T cells, the researchers could detect that spheroids were shrinking due to cancer cell death, proving that their approach successfully measures CAR T cell-induced tumor clearance in a quantitative manner.

Discussing the work, Dr. Wälchli says, “We believe this method can help to answer key questions about using 3D structure tumors as a suitable alternative for testing new immunotherapy approaches.”

The approach now opens the door for testing a range of different target molecules in combination with new CAR T cells targeting those molecules.

Fast, affordable and straightforward

Dr. Wälchli believes many researchers could benefit from the spheroid technique. He continues,

“A major advantage to our approach is that it is fast, affordable and straightforward, meaning any research group with the right equipment can test the effect of their immunotherapy on 3D tumors before moving to animal models”.