Skip to main content

Researchers in Basel develop dual-virus therapy for cancer

| News

Researchers in Basel develop dual-virus therapy for cancer

04.03.2021

Researchers at the University of Basel have developed a promising strategy for therapeutic cancer vaccines. They are expanding upon pre-existing vaccines to activate the immune system to fight off tumors using two viruses.

An international research group led by Professor Daniel Pinschewer from the Department of Biomedicine at the University of Basel has developed a new strategy for therapeutic cancer vaccines in animal trials. According to the press release from the university, this uses viruses that have been rendered harmless to transport cancer cells, which then activate the body’s immune system in such a way that it fights the tumor. Pinschewer’s therapy is innovative in its use of two viruses at staggered intervals instead of just one.

The press release explains that this method prevents the body’s innate immune system from attacking the viruses instead of the actual target, the “cargo” with cancer cells. By using two virus transporters one after the other, this effect was achieved in animal tests on mice. The immune system initially only uses killer T-cells to attack the cancer cells that have been introduced, and then attacks the tumor from which these were taken.

Pinschewer is quoted in the press release, saying: “By using two different viruses, one after the other, we focus the triggered immune response on the actual target, the tumor molecule. […] We can’t say anything about the efficacy of our approach in humans as yet […] However, since the therapy with two different viruses works better in mice than the therapy with only one virus, our research results make me optimistic.”

The Biotech company Hookipa Pharma in New York and Vienna, which Pinschewer co-founded, is now investigating the efficacy of this innovative approach to cancer therapy in humans in clinical trials. If the new approach is proven effective, the Basel researchers can also see it being used in combination with existing therapies in order to increase their efficacy.

Share this article

Sign up to receive our newsletter in your inbox.

You may also be interested in

Nouscom secures 67.5 million euros in financing

Biotech company Nouscom has raised 67.5 million euros in a series C financing round. The Basel-based firm intends to use...
Read More

Celebrating six months of innovation: i4Challenge accelerator New Ideas 2022/2023

On the 5th of July 2023, the 3rd iteration of the i4Challenge accelerator program New Ideas came to its conclusion....
Read More

How open innovation in healthtech hubs is fueling the rise of digital healthcare

How the ever-increasing uptake of digital solutions is enhancing patient engagement, increasing access to care and lowering the cost of...
Read More

Paradigm shift in pain management

Pain is a crucial sensation for survival, but it can also drive us to depression and long-term suffering if not...
Read More

BOOM Summit in Basel accelerates health technology

The BOOM Summit at Messe Basel in April 2024 will be a completely new kind of healthcare conference. The first...
Read More

Investors stump up 3.7 million Swiss francs in Onena Medicines

Onena Medicines has secured an investment of 3.7 million Swiss francs. The portfolio company of the biotech startup incubator BaseLaunch...
Read More

Do you have a question? We'd like to hear from you.