Champalimaud Foundation to Use Synthetic Biology in the Fight Against Cancer

The Champalimaud Foundation, a private non-profit research institution located in Lisbon, Portugal, has achieved a significant milestone in cancer research and pre-clinical development by obtaining exclusive rights to deploy synthetic biology technologies initially licensed from Stanford University and further developed by Refuge Biotechnologies (Refuge), a pioneering synthetic biology company specialising in cancer immunotherapy.

Under this transformative agreement, the Champalimaud Foundation is now the sole licensee for a comprehensive portfolio of synthetic biology engineering applications spanning all therapeutic fields. The Foundation has further solidified its position to develop and implement clinically relevant cell therapies by acquiring a patent portfolio from Refuge. 

The Champalimaud Foundation will continue to licence the synthetic biology platforms to Kite, a Gilead Company, to develop potential treatments for patients with blood cancer, following the licensing agreement announced by Refuge and Kite in October 2022.

Synthetic biology engineering, a revolutionary approach, allows for the precise genetic and epigenetic manipulation of cells. This technology opens the door to the creation of "smart" Advanced Therapeutic Medical Products (ATMPs) capable of responding more effectively to systemic cues and adapting to the unique microenvironments in patients with solid cancer. It also offers the potential to correct inherited genetic mutations associated with cancer.

The expert immunotherapy team at the Champalimaud Foundation has started  to engineer synthetic biology-based cell therapies to initiate or enhance biologically meaningful anti-cancer immune responses in patients with solid cancer. The potential of these treatments is significant, offering increased efficacy while remaining safe for use in conjunction with existing therapies. These platforms may allow for the introduction of additional safeguards in genetically modified cells with the aim of increasing safety for patients undergoing cell therapy. These technologies empower researchers and clinicians to reprogramme, control, and enhance the immune system's ability to detect and combat cancer cells. They provide the unprecedented opportunity to precisely rewire decision-making processes within transgenic immune cells, enabling these cells to recognise tumour-associated signatures expressed by tumour cells. The tailored immune cells can remain vigilant in the patient's body for an extended period, diligently patrolling to detect and combat tumour cells, thus offering new hope to patients with solid cancer.