10 May 2016, Munich - The Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC), part of the Helmholtz Association, has announced a cooperation project between two MDC research groups and three industry partners: the ‘Max Delbrück Center Cell Engineering Lab’ (MD-CEL). Their joint goal is to develop a cell-based gene therapy for cancer.
‘This is a therapy concept that could make completely new treatment possibilities available to cancer patients,’ says Dr Michael Karle, Technology Manager at Ascenion for the MDC. ‘But precisely because the approach is so new, there are still many challenges on the road to clinical application. To master these we need partners with expertise and experience in all the relevant fields – from basic science to production and clinical development. MD-CEL brings exactly these partners together at a very early developmental phase. This is the best strategy to effectively advance the approach and to realize its therapeutic potential.’
The Helmholtz Association supports this transfer process, and is establishing a ‘Helmholtz Innovation Lab’ at the MDC. In addition, research and development will be co-financed by the industry partners. Ascenion has supported the MDC intensively during conception, applications, and acquisition of industry partners.
The MD-CEL partners include the MDC research groups under Dr Zsuzsanna Izsvák and Prof. Wolfgang Uckert, together with Miltenyi Biotec GmbH, PlasmidFactory GmbH & Co. KG and Formula Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Zsuzsanna Izsvák uses special, non-viral vectors, so-called transposons - in particular the ‘Sleeping Beauty’ transposon - to deliver and integrate genes into target cells. Wolfgang Uckert, professor at the Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, reprograms the T cells of the immune system to detect and eliminate tumour cells. The two groups are already working together with other groups from the MDC and The University of Chicago on reprogramming T cells for tumour therapy. Compared to the widely used retrovirus-based gene delivery technique, this new approach is technically much simpler, cheaper and faster.
The industry partners are contributing their expertise and experience in the development of biotechnological and biomedical tools, reagents and therapies.
Together, the MD-CEL partners aim to develop T cell reprogramming for clinical use. It is anticipated that cell products will be available for clinical testing in about 3 years’ time.
The new technology also offers numerous applications beyond cancer immunotherapy. ‘Cell modification is at the heart of MD-CEL’s activities. This new technique can also be used to investigate other questions in gene therapy, so we are always open to further collaborative projects between MDC and industry,’ says Dr Felix Lorenz, who will head the new laboratory. Ascenion will support Dr Lorenz in acquiring further industry partners, and will advise MD-CEL regarding the protection and transfer of intellectual property generated during the cooperation.
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Contact
Dr Susanne Letzelter
T: +49 89 318814-16
E: letzelter@ascenion.de
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About Ascenion
Ascenion GmbH is an IP asset management company with particular expertise in the life sciences. Ascenion advises and supports public research institutions with regard to the protection and exploitation of their intellectual property (patents, know-how, materials), and initiates and mediates license agreements between research institutions and industry. The company places particular emphasis on coaching company founders and on active equity management. Ascenion was founded in 2001 as a 100% subsidiary of the LifeScience Foundation for the Promotion of Science and Research and is exclusive technology transfer partner of 19 research institutes in the Helmholtz and Leibniz Associations, as well as of the Charité, the Hannover Medical School and the research institute TWINCORE. Ascenion currently markets over 750 technologies on behalf of these institutes, and closes an average of about 80 revenue-generating agreements between research and industry per year. The team has also coached numerous spin-offs through their foundation and early growth and Ascenion holds equity in 21 of these companies. Ascenion’s headquarters are in Munich, with further offices in Berlin, Braunschweig, Hamburg, Hanover and Neuherberg.
Further information at www.ascenion.de