Elicera Therapeutics

CAR-T therapy, in which a patient's own immune cells are modified to recognize cancer cells, works very well in certain blood cancers but has so far shown limited efficacy against solid tumors. A key reason is that the cells do not survive long enough to penetrate the tumor's own protective environment and fail to kill all tumor cells, which allows the cancer cells to mutate and reestablish.

The research project that has now received funding from the Swedish Research Council investigates the CAR-T cells' baseline activity, known as tonic signaling. The hypothesis is that CAR-T cells targeting solid tumors need a balanced level of baseline activity to be able to infiltrate the tumor. The researchers will test various CAR variants, including in models of the brain tumor glioblastoma, with the goal of establishing concrete design rules for future CAR-T therapies. The project will be carried out at Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology at Uppsala University.

"We welcome the Swedish Research Council's decision to fund this important research project, which will be led by Elicera's co-founder Di Yu. The results have the potential to result in stronger CAR-T cells, with the addition of the iTANK platform, ultimately enhancing their ability to survive and reach the tumor," says Johan Liwing, CEO of Elicera Therapeutics.