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NAERINGSPH-Nærings-phd

Development and evaluation of candidate products for cancer therapy

Alternative title: Utvikling og testing av produktkandidater for kreftbehandling

Awarded: NOK 2.3 mill.

This Industrial Ph.D. project of Oncoinvent AS has been integral to the research projects of the company for the discovery and development of radiopharmaceuticals for treatment of cancer. The project has been a collaboration with Oslo University Hospital and The University of Oslo. The research of the PhD student Ruth Gong Li has been tightly linked to optimization and testing during the development of the lead product candidate of the company, Radspherin®, a new alpha-emitting radioactive microsphere designed for treatment of disseminated cancer in the peritoneal cavity. The first phase of the project was related to the development and non-clinical evaluation of the Radspherin® formulation. Radspherin® is currently being tested in phase 1 and 2A clinical trials. The last phase of the project was focused on development and testing of discovery candidates within the field of alpha-emitting radionuclide therapies. Overall, the knowledge and research data generated though this Industrial PhD project have been and will be valuable for the scientific community working with radium-224 and lead-212 based radiopharmaceuticals and for the future clinical and pipeline developments of Oncoinvent AS.

- Research data on drug product candidates for cancer treatment - Increased knowledge within the field of alpha emitting radionuclide therapies for cancer treatment - Increased knowledge on critical parameters for design of an alpha-emitting radionuclide therapy - Publication in scientific peer reviewed journals - Presentation of project and results to the scientific community at meetings and conferences

Radionuclide therapy is an innovative and rapidly evolving field with a great potential. It can be used alone or in combination with other clinical treatment modalities due to non-overlapping mechanisms of action in cancer disorders. The goal of Oncoinvent AS is to develop novel product candidates for cancer therapy. The development programs of the company include radiotherapeutic, radioimmunotherapeutic and immunotherapeutic products for treatment of various solid cancers. The company has developed proprietary antibodies and holds a license for other antibodies. The antibodies are used as targeting modules of the immuno- and radioimmunotherapeutic candidates. These candidate products are in a discovery phase. There is a need for extensive research for improved knowledge of the mechanism of action novel radiotherapies and immunotherapies. The present project will be involved in research activities for description, optimization and evaluation to expand the knowledge and expertise of potential cancer therapies.

Funding scheme:

NAERINGSPH-Nærings-phd