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15.07.2024 14:36

Predicting the effectiveness of immunotherapies: Simon Haas awarded ERC Proof of Concept Grant

Konstanze Pflüger, Katharina Kalhoff, Ole Kamm Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
Berlin Institute of Health in der Charité (BIH)

Immunotherapies harness the body’s immune system to fight cancer by influencing the interaction between immune cells and cancer cells. Such treatments have proved successful in combating certain types of cancers like leukemia, but they remain ineffective in some patients and cause resistance. A research group led by Prof. Simon Haas, which is part of the joint research focus “Single-Cell Approaches for Personalized Medicine” of the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH), the Max Delbrück Center, and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, has developed methods to analyze how immune cells and cancer cells interact.

The researchers now want to translate the approach into a clinical tool that can accurately predict which patients will benefit from immunotherapies and which will not. Haas and his team have today received a Proof of Concept Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) worth €150,000.

Immunotherapies that employ the body’s own immune system to fight cancer are already being used successfully to treat leukemia. Ideally, this involves influencing a person’s own immune cells in such a way that they can seek out and destroy cancer cells more effectively. Yet this therapeutic approach, which is expensive compared with other treatments, only works in a fraction of patients. What’s more, cancer cells may develop resistance to the modified immune cells. Until now, scientists were unable to predict which patients will benefit from immunotherapy.

Treating cancer patients more effectively

Researchers led by Professor Simon Haas, head of the Systems Hematology, Stem Cells and Precision Medicine Group within the joint research focus “Single-Cell Approaches for Personalized Medicine” of the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH), the Max Delbrück Center, and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, have developed novel methods based on single-cell analysis that can specifically analyze the interactions between immune cells and cancer cells. Their research has shown that these methods also shed light on how effective immunotherapy will be in patients. Now the researchers want to further develop their technological approach into a precision tool that can accurately predict which patients will benefit from immunotherapy and which will not. In addition, a better understanding of what causes resistance to immunotherapy will help doctors select targeted combination therapies for patients who may have resistance. “Such a clinical test would make it possible to treat patients with the most effective drugs in a more personalized way, while also sparing them from potential toxicity and reducing costs for the healthcare system,” explains Dr. Cornelia Eckert, head of the Molecular-Genetic and Immunological Reference Laboratory at Charité’s Department of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology.

First steps toward commercialization

The researchers have now been awarded an ERC Proof of Concept Grant, worth €150,000, to advance their project. The funding will specifically help the team translate their research findings into clinical practice. “We are delighted that the ERC, one of Europe’s most prestigious institutions for innovation and scientific excellence, shares our enthusiasm for turning our research into medical applications,” says Haas. Project implementation will be coordinated by Schayan Yousefian, a PhD student in Haas’s research group, who co-developed the methods and collected the first data for predicting treatment efficacy in a personalized manner. “This support will enable us to validate our approach in larger numbers of patients and take the first steps toward commercialization,” says Yousefian, adding that the team plans to collaborate closely with pharmaceutical companies.

The ERC Proof of Concept Grant scheme is highly competitive and is open only to researchers who currently hold, or have previously been awarded, ERC frontier research grants. In November 2022, Haas and his team received an ERC Starting Grant for their research into immunotherapies.

Further links
ERC Grant, Proof of Concept
https://erc.europa.eu/apply-grant/proof-concept
More information about Simon Haas
https://www.bihealth.org/en/research/research-group/systems-hematology-stem-cell...
Photo download
https://www.bihealth.org/fileadmin/0_allgemein/Simon_Haas_MDC2.jpg

Contacts
Konstanze Pflüger: +49 (0)30 450 543 343
Katharina Kalhoff: +49 151 5757 9574
Ole Kamm: +49 152 2561 0126
Press office
Berlin Institute of Health in der Charité (BIH)
pressestelle-bih@bih-charite.de
https://www.bihealth.org

Jutta Kramm
Group Leader Communications
Max Delbrück Center
+49 30 9406-2140
<jutta.kramm@mdc-berlin.de oder presse@mdc-berlin.de>
https://www.mdc-berlin.de

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About the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH)
The mission of the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH) is medical translation: transferring biomedical research findings into novel approaches to personalized prediction, prevention, diagnostics and therapies and, conversely, using clinical observations to develop new research ideas. The aim is to deliver relevant medical benefits to patients and the population at large. As the translational research unit within Charité, the BIH is also committed to establishing a comprehensive translational ecosystem – one that places emphasis on a system-wide understanding of health and disease and that promotes change in the biomedical translational research culture. The BIH was founded in 2013 and is funded 90 percent by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and 10 percent by the State of Berlin. The founding institutions, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and Max Delbrück Center, were independent member entities within the BIH until 2020. Since 2021 the BIH has been integrated into Charité as its so-called third pillar. The Max Delbrück Center is now the Privileged Partner of the BIH.

About the Max Delbrück Center
The Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (Max Delbrück Center) is one of the world’s leading biomedical research institutions. Max Delbrück, a Berlin native, was a Nobel laureate and one of the founders of molecular biology. At the locations in Berlin-Buch and Mitte, researchers from some 70 countries study human biology – investigating the foundations of life from its most elementary building blocks to systems-wide mechanisms. By understanding what regulates or disrupts the dynamic equilibrium of a cell, an organ, or the entire body, we can prevent diseases, diagnose them earlier, and stop their progression with tailored therapies. Patients should be able to benefit as soon as possible from basic research discoveries. This is why the Max Delbrück Center supports spin-off creation and participates in collaborative networks. It works in close partnership with Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin in the jointly-run Experimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC), the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) at Charité, and the German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK). Founded in 1992, the Max Delbrück Center today employs 1,800 people and is 90 percent funded by the German federal government and 10 percent by the State of Berlin.

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Weitere Informationen:

https://www.bihealth.org/en/notices/predicting-the-effectiveness-of-immunotherap... To the press release
https://erc.europa.eu/apply-grant/proof-concept About the ERC Grant, Proof of Concept
https://www.bihealth.org/en/research/research-group/systems-hematology-stem-cell... More information about Simon Haas

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Portrait Simon Haas
Felix Petermann
© Felix Petermann | MDC

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