Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology IZIDepartment of Cellular Immunotherapy
ImSavar
A significant challenge facing the development of immunomodulating therapies is their preclinical evaluation in terms of efficacy and safety. The greatest problem here is the complexity of the human immune system. The EU consortium imSAVAR (Immune Safety Avatar: nonclinical mimicking of the immune system effects of immunomodulatory therapies) is addressing these challenges by coming up with new ways of examining immunomodulatory therapies. Existing model systems are to be improved and new ones developed in order to identify adverse side effects of new therapies affecting the immune system. Furthermore, new biomarkers for diagnosing and predicting immune-mediated pharmacology and toxicities will be developed. The focus is also on more detailed research into toxicity mechanisms and the potential for their mitigation via therapeutic interventions.
In close cooperation with the University Hospital of Würzburg, the Cellular Immunotherapy Branch contributes various in vitro and in vivo test platforms and microphysiological 3D tissue and tumor models to the project.
T2Evolve
The aim of the T2Evolve project is to develop an innovation ecosystem that accelerates the development of T-cell therapies in the EU. To this end, models, tools and markers will be provided to improve the prediction of the toxicity and efficacy of T-cell therapies. The project will also develop standardized methods for the production and monitoring of T-cell therapies.
AIDPATH
The EU project AIDPATH aims to establish an automated and AI-controlled manufacturing platform for CAR-T cells. Several use cases for AI-supported adaptive manufacturing processes, the clinical application of CAR-T cells and resource planning for manufacturing in the "Smart Hospital of the Future" are being developed and a modular robot-assisted manufacturing platform for CAR-T (and CAR-NK) is being realized.