The overall goal of OptiCAN is to overcome the present limitations of CAR T cell therapies and extend their application towards personalised immunotherapy of solid tumors through advanced genetic engineering of patient-derived T cells.
We will achieve this goal by testing different innovative approaches for functional improvement of T cells to treat pancreatic cancer and melanoma as model indications. In more detail, we will
- develop most effective gene-engineering technologies for functional improvement of the CAR T cell product by use of innovative adapter-CAR and boost-CAR technologies
- apply advanced imaging technologies to investigate the tumor microenvironment (TME) and to develop strategies for overcoming its immunosuppressive milieu
- establish innovative preclinical animal models (PDXv2.0) to prove the in vivo efficacy of the generated T cells
- integrate the project achievements into a novel manufacturing workflow for optimised personalised cell products
We will additionally investigate ethical and regulatory aspects currently slowing down the transition of personalised cancer immunotherapy into clinical routine. Our innovative treatment strategy relying on highly effective and controllable CAR T cell products can easily be transferred and spread to hospitals across Europe. Thus, we will finally improve the perspectives for terminally-ill cancer patients having no further alternative treatment options.