Sweden develops antibody with potential to treat cancer

A team of researchers from Uppsala University and KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden have developed a new antibody that has the potential to treat many different types of cancer.

According to GlobalData , with the new method, researchers combined three different functions in the antibody, which is believed to enhance the impact of T cells on cancer tumors.

Antibodies help identify cancer cells

This antibody can instruct the immune system to recognize and attack "neoantigens ," which are mutations and genetic changes that appear only in cancer cells.

A doctor is examining a mammogram - (Photo: Reuters).

The dual mechanism of antibodies involves delivering tumor-specific materials to immune cells and stimulating them to enhance T-cell responses.

The potential of this approach has been demonstrated in both human blood samples and animal models, the researchers note.

Studies have shown that the antibody can activate the right immune cells and prolong the lives of mice. At higher doses, the antibody has helped mice get rid of cancer and is considered safer than previous cancer treatments.

The study results suggest that this approach could be tailored to each patient to boost the immune system against cancer.

Precision Medicine Approaches to Cancer Treatment

"We have been researching precision medicine for almost 15 years, and how to use antibodies to influence a key protein (CD40) in the immune system. We can now show that the new antibody approach works as a precision medicine approach for cancer treatment," said Professor Sara Mangsbo from the Faculty of Pharmacy, Uppsala University.

The next step in antibody development will be to use a fully optimized manufacturing process to manufacture the drug for additional safety studies, followed by launching human clinical trials for cancer treatment.

"The advantage of the drug we are developing is that it is easy to produce on a large scale and can be easily tailored to a patient's specific disease or tumor," said Professor Johan Rockberg of the KTH Royal Institute of Technology.