Researchers from The Ottawa Hospital at BioCanRx’s Summit for Cancer ImmunotherapyResearchers at The Ottawa Hospital have been awarded $3.9 million from BioCanRx to develop cutting-edge biotherapeutics that harness the immune system to fight cancer. Biotherapeutics, which incorporate biological materials like cells, genes and viruses, are revolutionizing the treatment of cancer.
The research projects focus on biotherapeutics such as exosomes, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, viral vaccines and tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). These therapies are being developed for a variety of cancers, including leukemia, lymphoma, melanoma, colon cancer and ovarian cancer. The funding also includes support for economic evaluation, patient engagement and manufacturing related to cancer biotherapeutics.
“This funding allows us to study how CAR-T therapy can be delivered more affordably and closer to home for patients with hard-to-treat blood cancers,” said Dr. Kednapa Thavorn, senior scientist a The Ottawa Hospital and associate professor at the University of Ottawa, who received a $200,000 grant from BioCanRx. “With input from patients, we’re identifying the most cost-effective approach to make this life-saving treatment more accessible across Canada.”
A number of other researchers from The Ottawa Hospital are involved in the BioCanRx-funded projects, including Rebecca Auer, Harold Atkins, John Bell, Chris Bredeson, Angela Crawley, Mathieu Crupi, Dean Fergusson, Brian Hutton, Natasha Kekre, Manoj Lalu, Stuart Nicholls, Justin Presseau, Jennifer Quizi, Bernard Thébaud, Lee Timms, Elisabeth Vesnaver and Pierre Villeneuve.
Several core research facilities and platforms at The Ottawa Hospital are also supporting these projects, including the Biotherapeutics Manufacturing Centre, Ottawa Methods Centre, Office for Patient Engagement in Research Activities (OPERA) and Blueprint Translational Research Group.
“Canadian innovation in immunotherapy for cancer is world-class and we are excited to expand our support for projects that will contribute to the advancement of immunotherapy and biotherapeutic solutions for cancer patients in Canada,” said Stéphanie Michaud, President and CEO of BioCanRx, Canada’s Immunotherapy Network. “By investing in homegrown research and supporting the translation of scientific discovery into real-world treatments, we are strengthening Canada’s position as a global leader in delivering novel immunotherapies to cancer patients.”
See BioCanRx media release for details.
The Ottawa Hospital is a leading academic health, research and learning hospital proudly affiliated with the University of Ottawa and supported by The Ottawa Hospital Foundation.
