The GAPVAC consortium is budgeted with 6 million euros by the European Union (XNUMXth Framework Program)
The Technion is participating in a highly innovative project, budgeted at 6 million euros by the European Union (the Seventh Framework Program), which will work to develop a new family of cancer vaccines. The project is underway these days.
The GAPVAC consortium is the first initiative funded by the European Union, which aims at the clinical development of personalized vaccines for the treatment of cancer patients using biomarkers. The consortium consists of 14 bodies from the biotechnology industry and academia, leading in their experience in developing cancer vaccines. The consortium will be led by immatics biotechnologies GmbH (as coordinator) and BioNTech AG (as sub-coordinator). Both companies are located in Germany, and engage in biomarker-guided approaches to the fight against cancer. The only Israeli researcher participating in the project is Professor Aryeh Edmon from the Faculty of Biology at the Technion. Professor Admon and his team will adapt the new method for diagnosing cancer, which they recently developed, to diagnose the disease with a simple blood test, which includes the identification of the variety of peptides related to the soluble tissue adaptation complex protein in the patients' blood. This large-scale analysis of the variety of peptides should also be used for the development of a more successful diagnosis, the adjustment of personal treatment, and in addition - the selection of peptides that could be used as immunotherapy for this cancer.
The GAPVAC project is designed to create, manufacture and develop APVACs - vaccines adapted to patients, based on specific aspects of the type of tumor and the patient's immune system. The most up-to-date technologies, including next-generation genome sequencing (NGS), mass spectrometry and innovative immunomonitoring approaches, will be combined to create the optimal treatment for the specific patient.
GAPVAC will focus on finding medical solutions (which currently do not exist) for glioblastoma, a violent version of brain cancer for which no successful treatment has yet been developed. The limited treatments available today have too little effect on survival rates. The project aims to show that APVACs do not create resistance in the body, and lead to a strong and specific immune response against the cancer. Furthermore, the partners will demonstrate the feasibility/applicability of this innovative personalized approach.
The clinical trial:
Both companies will lead the personalized approach to immunotherapy. The heart of the GAPVAC project is phase 1 of the clinical trials, which will include up to 30 "new" glioblastoma patients, and is expected to begin in 2014. Glioblastoma patients will several times receive a vaccine specially prepared for them. The personal vaccine will be given at the same time as standard chemotherapy after the end of the surgery and the initial radio-chemotherapy. The clinical trial will be led by Dr. Wolfgang Wieck from the University of Heidelberg and Dr. Pierre Dietrich from the University of Geneva, both world-renowned experts in the treatment and immunology of brain cancer.
