“Acting as a ‘Trojan horse’ that hides and protects its ‘soldiers’ until the moment of combat arrives, these CAR-T cell-laden capsules, along with a cocktail of drugs, will enable targeted delivery of ‘soldiers’ in the tumor, at the same time the drugs will alleviate the difficulties that CAR-T cells encounter in tumors, thus enhancing their anti-tumor action”, explains Dr. Sandra Hervas-Stubbs, researcher of the Cima Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, principal responsible for the center in the project. “This strategy will open up a new alternative in the fight against cancer,” stresses the researcher.
CARTsol (‘Encapsulation of CART cells in bioactive nanostructured porous systems for their targeted release in solid tumors’) is coordinated by the University of Santiago de Compostela and, together with Cima, the Salamanca Cancer Research Center and GALARIA form this interdisciplinary consortium SA, public health services company. Part of these centers are participants in the Cancer Network Biomedical Research Center (CIBERONC) of the Carlos III Health Institute.
‘ADVANCED’ IN BREAST CANCER
In the research “we will use mouse models of breast cancer, which will be treated with genetically modified CAR-T cells so that they recognize the molecules that are expressed in this type of tumour. The important thing is that the methods optimized in this project can be used, with slight modifications, for other types of solid tumors,” Hervás points out.
After experimental optimization using cellular and animal models, the researchers will produce this new version of immunotherapy according to GMP manufacturing standards (‘Good Manufacturing Practice’), which guarantees production with an adequate and specific quality for its eventual transfer to the clinical setting.
The project has just received funding from the State Agency for Research of the Ministry of Science and Innovation, under the 2022 Strategic Lines Program endowed with the European Union’s Reconstruction and Resilience Funds. The overall funding for the project is one million euros.
