Two VLAIO innovation mandates for CRIG researchers

CRIG

VLAIO ('Vlaams Agentschap Innoveren en Ondernemen') innovation mandates aim to bridge the gap between academia and industry by supporting postdoctoral researchers who wish to deploy active efforts to achieve the effective transfer, the exploitation and the utilisation of their research findings. This can be done either through a collaboration with an existing company, or by working towards the establishment of a new spin-off company (more info via the VLAIO website).

We are proud to announce that two CRIG researchers have received such an innovation mandate, and shortly introduce their projects here:

 

  • Dr. Sandra Van Lint (group of Prof. Karim Vermaelen): 'SparXells spin-off as a technology platform company for mRNA-based dendritic cell immunotherapy products for various cancer indications'

    In recent years, oncology has been taken by storm by immune checkpoint blockers (ICBs), which have revolutionized the standard of care for several cancer indications. Despite the encouraging results of checkpoint blockade in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), only a minority of patients respond and patients who do respond inevitably experience disease relapse at some later point. The problem is that ICBs only fix one late step in the chain of events leading to T cell induced tumor destruction. Upstream of this, a complex process involving tumor antigen uptake, antigen processing and transport to T cell-rich areas for optimal presentation has to occur first. This complex task is orchestrated by dendritic cells (DCs), a specialized type of white blood cells. DC-based therapy has the potential to re-ignite tumor-targeted immune responses in the growing population of patients with lung or other cancers where ICBs on their own are failing. The research group of Prof. Karim Vermaelen developed a DC-based immunotherapy platform (MIDRIX) to produce highly immunostimulatory autologous dendritic cells for cancer immunotherapy.

    A CRIG spin-off project has been started to boost market-oriented technological and clinical development of this advanced therapy medicinal product (ATMP) in the oncology space. By its mechanism of action, the team's DC platform offers a rational solution to the large and growing patient population in which current cancer immunotherapeutics fail. On top, the therapy can be easily and quickly extended to other various other cancer indications.

 

  • Dr. Sabah Kasmi (group of Prof. Bruno De Geest - collaboration with eTheRNA): 'Improving mRNA vaccines by designing innovative lipid chemistries and modulationg LNPs’ surface properties'

    The recent COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the huge potential of mRNA technology to generate efficacious vaccines at tremendous speed and has resulted in the first-time approval of two mRNA-based vaccines (BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna). This success would however have been impossible without two decades of preceding lipid-based nanoparticle (LNP) development. LNPs are highly efficient nanocarriers that protect the fragile mRNA from ubiquitous RNAses and enable it to cross the endosomal membrane. The postdoc VLAIO grant obtained expands the existing collaboration with the UGent lab of Prof. De Geest and is focused on further improving the potency and safety of eTheRNA’s prophylactic and therapeutic mRNA vaccines by designing innovative lipid chemistries and modulating the LNPs’ surface properties.

 

Congratulations & good luck with your projects!