Getting ready to treat human patients with nanobody-targeted photodynamic therapy

ended

Unfortunately, current cancer therapies often fail to cure patients, or are associated with severe side effects. Ideally, a therapy should locally eradicate cancer cells without damaging healthy tissue and should induce long term protection through activation of the immune system. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a treatment approach which can do both, through the local light activation of photosensitizers. However, current photosensitizers lack cancer specificity, which limits therapeutic efficacy and prolongs photosensitivity in patients. Recently, Dr. Oliveira has developed an improved version of targeted PDT that uses small antibody fragments, i.e. nanobodies, to target the photosensitizer to cancer cells. Nanobodies distribute homogenously, bind rapidly and specifically to cancer cells, and are quickly eliminated when unbound. Within the ERC StG KILLCANCER project, the team has been focusing on better understanding the mechanism of nanobody-targeted PDT, its potential to induce tumor regression in vivo, and its capacity to trigger the immune system for long term protection. Results indicate this treatment could lead to improved selectivity and reduced side effects, compared to conventional PDT and antibody-targeted PDT. The fundamental objective of this ERC PoC is to ascertain the technical and commercial viability of nanobody-targeted PDT for treatment of head and neck cancer. Within this project, the aims are to: 1. Humanize the lead nanobody, validate the results, and explore GMP production 2. Perform an IP landscape analysis and establish freedom-to-operate (FTO) 3. Execute an extensive market, competitor, and stakeholder analysis, and 4. Develop a detailed business plan based on this information to accurately guide commercialisation. Together, these steps will be essential for nanobody-targeted PDT to be ready for the translation to humans, so that cancer patients and society as a whole can benefit from this promising alternative treatment.