Germany's BioMed X Institute launches new collaboration with Japanese firm Daiichi Sankyo in cancer therapy

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BioMed X, an independent biomedical research institute based in Heidelberg, Germany, has announced the launch of a new collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo Co., a global pharmaceutical company headquartered in Japan.

This collaboration marks the start of a cutting-edge initiative to explore innovative approaches in cancer treatment using multi-specific biologics. The new project, entitled “New Strategies for Targeting of Solid Tumours with Multi-Specific Biologics (MTT; Multi-Specific Targeting of Tumours)”, will be hosted at the BioMed X Institute in Heidelberg.

The goal of this partnership is to leverage the latest advances in multi-functional biologics, such as bi- and tri-specific antibodies, to develop new therapies that can engage multiple targets simultaneously within the tumour microenvironment.

These next-generation therapies aim to overcome the limitations of conventional treatments by leveraging synergistic effects of different anti-tumour signaling pathways and mechanisms by manipulating proximity of multiple targets.

The MTT initiative focuses on the following key research challenges:

• Development of new therapeutic concepts for bi- or multi-specific biologics for new extracellular or intracellular target combinations which could be exploited for the treatment of solid tumours.
• Exploration, identification, and functional validation of promising new target combinations in vitro and in vivo.
• Development of an elegant in vitro assay system for functional assessment of novel target combinations.