While successful tumor surgery can be reassuring for cancer patients, the risk of recurrence remains. This arises when individual cancer cells that migrated into adjacent tissues before surgery later develop into metastases. These cells cannot be removed surgically, but can be removed using antibodies.
An antibody fragment specific for carbonic anhydrase (CA) XII is being developed by Prof. Reinhard Zeidler’s team at Helmholtz Munich to combat these residual cancer cells in glioblastoma – a particularly aggressive brain tumour. CA-XII is an antigen expressed by glioblastoma cells, but not by healthy brain cells. In cooperation with the Munich biotech company ITM and experts from the University Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Prof. Zeidler’s team has developed and evaluated an anti-CA-XII fragment coupled to a therapeutic radioisotope. In a clinical trial at the University Hospital Münster, the fragment will be applied to the wound following standard tumour surgery, in order to destroy any remaining glioblastoma cells in the surrounding tissue.
‘I do cancer research so that one day, patients can benefit from it,’ says Prof. Zeidler. ‘If we manage to reduce the risk of recurrence, this really would be a milestone in glioblastoma therapy.’
Ascenion has been working together with Prof. Reinhard Zeidler for many years and, together with the Department for Innovation Management at Helmholtz Munich, played a significant role in negotiating a licensing agreement between Helmholtz Munich and ITM, giving the company an exclusive option to license the therapeutic agent and associated world-wide patents and know-how for the production and application of the CA-XII fragment. ITM exercised its option in the second half of 2022.
(Annual Review 2021/22)
