The PRECIOUS (scaling-up immunomodulating nanomedicines for multimodal precision cancer immunotherapy) project will establish a platform for the development of new medicines that contain immunomodulating components acting at multiple levels.
‘These novel medicines will act as a ‘two-sided knife’ by boosting the immune system, and at the same time attacking the immunosuppressive microenvironment that characterises the tumour site‘ Prof. Dr. C. Figdor says.
Nanoparticles offer the optimal platform for a combinational immunotherapy, as they are able to encapsulate immunomodulators in biodegradable particles. Currently, immunomodulating nanomedicines are not used to their full potential due to is challenging manufacturing requirements.
PRECIOUS will develop a manufacturing process at industrial scale for immunomodulating nanomedicines and test the potential of these nanoparticle based immunotherapies in the clinic. To ensure that these novel treatment strategies will reach patients, the development of a marketing and commercialisation strategy for these novel medicines is an important part of the project.
Together, PRECIOUS will realise a major improvement in cancer therapy to provide cancer patients with enhanced quality of life.