December 10, 2012, 12:33
The University of Stuttgart and Oncomatrix begin a research collaboration
Andrea Mayer-Grenu, Department of University Communication, University of Stuttgart.
New cancer drugs to treat metastatic tumors.
The Spanish biopharmaceutical company Oncomatrix and the University of Stuttgart have signed a collaboration agreement to develop new immunotherapeutic agents with specific activity directed at the tumor and minimal side effects on healthy tissue. The company, based in the Basque Country, develops concepts and new drugs to treat metastatic tumors, with special attention to breast, bladder, and pancreatic cancer. At the University of Stuttgart, the collaboration will be carried out in the Institute of Cellular Biology and Immunology, through its departments of Biomedical Engineering, led by Professor Roland Kontermann, and Cellular Biology, led by Professor Klaus Pfizenmaier.
The collaboration includes the development of highly effective immunotherapeutic agents through genetic engineering that specifically target the cells of the tissues surrounding malignant cancer cells and exert their cytotoxic effect there. These non-tumorous cells form the so-called tumor stroma. By means of signaling or surface molecules, they favor tumor growth and the formation of metastases. The stroma develops in parallel with the cancer cells themselves and, depending on the tumor and the stage of the disease, can account for up to 90 % % of the mass of a carcinoma. With these immunotherapeutic agents, it is intended to indirectly inhibit tumor growth and, especially, prevent metastatic spread. The approach consists of stably binding a specific antibody to a toxic molecule, forming an immunoconjugate. First, the partners will select suitable surface molecules from the non-tumorous cells of the connective tissue or from the tumor vessels produced by these cells but not by those located outside the stroma. The second challenge is to produce a human or humanized antibody that specifically recognizes these structures and induces the entry of the immunoconjugate into the target cell, where it can exert its potent cytotoxic effect.
With the concept of stromal-specific immunotoxins, Oncomatrix opens a new avenue in cancer therapy. Its ultimate goal is to develop a generation of targeted treatments applicable to numerous solid tumors, which could offer advantages over conventional treatments especially in cancers with high metastatic potential.
Contact
Prof. Dr. Klaus Pfizenmaier, University of Stuttgart, Institute of Cellular Biology and Immunology. Tel.: 0711/68566986. Email: klaus.pfizenmaier (at) izi.uni-stuttgart.de.
About Oncomatrix
Oncomatrix, located in the Bizkaia Technology Park in Derio, Spain, develops new biopharmaceuticals to treat invasive forms of breast, pancreatic and bladder cancer. Its activity focuses on the targets of the tumor stroma and cytotoxic effector molecules, areas in which it has acquired scientific knowledge and industrial property rights.
To develop these new protein-based treatments, Oncomatrix has established strategic and operational partnerships with universities, research centers, and internationally renowned hospitals in the United States and Europe, including National Jewish Health, Case Western Reserve University, the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital, the Central Hospital of Asturias, and the University of Stuttgart. www.oncomatrix.es.
About the University of Stuttgart
The University of Stuttgart maintains an interdisciplinary profile focused on the natural sciences and engineering. Founded in 1829, the former higher technical school has become a world-renowned center of training and research, with 24,600 students and 5,000 employees at the time of this publication. Its prominent position is reflected in the Simulation Technology (SimTech) cluster of excellence, the Advanced Manufacturing Engineering (GSaME) graduate school, and numerous collaborative research centers, priority projects, and doctoral programs. Its research focuses on modeling and simulation, new materials, complex systems and communication, technological concepts and evaluation, sustainable energy supply and the environment, mobility, integrated product design and production, and sustainable space design and technology, and in life sciences, biotechnology, and systems biology.
About the IZI
The Institute of Cellular Biology and Immunology (IZI), directed by Professor K. Pfizenmaier, has four departments: Cellular Biology, Molecular Immunology, Biomedical Engineering, and Molecular Biology of Tumor Cells. Its basic research focuses on signal transduction and the molecular mechanisms of cellular and tissue homeostasis, as well as their pathogenic alterations in cancer and immune diseases. The applied research is mainly carried out in pharmaceutical biotechnology. The Biomedical Engineering department of Professor Kontermann has extensive experience in antibody engineering, especially in targeted treatments based on antibodies. Together with a group of Professor Pfizenmaier, they develop new proapoptotic and immunomodulatory fusion proteins based on ligands from the TNF cytokine family. In collaboration with pharmaceutical companies, one of the treatments developed by the institute is nearing the start of its clinical evaluation. Numerous publications in international journals, patents, and patent applications document its results in these fields.
Features of this press release: directed at journalists and the general public; biology and medicine; supraregional scope; research projects. Language of the original publication: German.