With only seven members, iGEM Eindhoven forms a small but determined student team that aims to help shape the future of cancer treatment. The students have already filed a provisional patent for their cancer vaccine. With the innovation, the team recently won prizes at the international iGEM Competition . Student teams worldwide are challenged to develop innovations within synthetic biology as part of this competition.
Source: IO+ / Elcke Vels
Cancer is currently the second largest cause of death worldwide. Over 10,000 people are diagnosed with lung cancer each year in the Netherlands. Treatment options for this form of cancer are limited. Current therapies, such as radiation and chemotherapy, cause many harmful side effects as they destroy not only cancer cells but also healthy cells. Moreover, a patient often does not heal completely, and the tumor may eventually return.
Time to develop a better treatment method, the students of iGEM (which stands for International Genetically Engineered Machine) Eindhoven thought. The team is working on a new immunotherapy, in the form of a vaccine: PROMISE .
Innovating with an existing vaccine
"We are taking an existing tuberculosis vaccine, the BCG vaccine, as a basis," explains team manager Milou Meulendijks. "This vaccine also has the potential to protect against other diseases, such as lung cancer." The original vaccine contains bacterial components that can divide, she explains.
That carries risks - think inflammation and sepsis - when administered through the bloodstream. And that, unlike tuberculosis, is necessary in an application for lung cancer. "To get around this problem, we isolated a specific bacterial component that cannot divide but still generates the same immune response."
This allows it to be administered safely through the bloodstream. In addition, we can functionalize our bacterial component with antigens unique to both the patient and the cancer."
The cancer vaccine offers many advantages over traditional treatments. It boosts the immune response, meaning the body is better able to recognize and attack cancer cells. "Because our vaccine specifically targets cancer cells, healthy cells are much less affected, leading to significantly fewer side effects than chemotherapy or radiation. This not only makes it safer for the patient, but it also provides long-term protection against any recurrence of the disease," Meulendijks said.
The iGEM Competition
The vaccine, which targets lung cancer and possibly eventually other forms of cancer, is being developed as part of the iGEM Competition, the largest international competition in synthetic biology. iGEM Eindhoven participated in the grand final in Paris in October, along with more than 400 teams, 10,000 participants, worldwide.
This year Eindhoven ended up in the top 5 in both the oncology category and the entrepreneurship category. Two years ago the previous team even won the entire competition.
Luna Rašković, captain of public relations: "As part of the competition, teams develop innovations for all kinds of application areas. Think of solutions to environmental problems, such as the nitrogen crisis, or applications in the food industry, such as improving wine yields."
iGEM Eindhoven focuses mainly on therapeutic applications, as team members mostly come from biomedical engineering studies. In other words, "Here in Eindhoven, we innovate healthcare," Rašković said.
A provisional patent
The team is already beyond the concept phase. Rašković: "We have isolated the bacterial components we want to use. Now we are trying to link tumor-specific antigens to these. This is a difficult process and takes time." Therefore, it is still too early to say when PROMISE can be of great value in practice. "But we are already cautiously exploring follow-up steps."
The students have already applied for a provisional patent. Meulendijks continues: "We now have a year to gather more evidence. You can't get a patent based on just an idea. So in the coming time, we have to show that our idea works."
One way they do this is by conducting tests in the lab. As part of this, the students have also contacted parties such as The Gate. "Together with The Gate, we are looking at appropriate ways to protect this idea. That way you can also set up a company with it later and take your therapy to the market. Who knows, maybe after our study phase this will lead to setting up a startup."
Visiting
They also pay regular visits to established companies and organizations in the healthcare industry. For example, the students already worked with Lung Cancer Netherlands. 50 lung cancer patients filled out a survey. In it, they could share their experiences regarding current treatments and indicate whether they were open to a new form of immunotherapy. "That turned out to be - fortunately! - the case," says Meulendijks.
In addition, the team holds regular discussions with doctors, nurses, and representatives from the pharmaceutical industry. "Their feedback we take into account in the further development of our project. Among other things, pharmaceutical representatives have given us valuable advice on the best strategies for successfully bringing technology to market. A key insight they shared is that it is crucial to consider the scalability and cost of therapy early on."
iGEM is at the center of the community anyway. Most recently, they organized Challenge Day, an event for high school students to introduce them to university life, and synthetic biology in particular.
Personal growth
Joining an ambitious team like iGEM is hard work, the students admit. Although no credits are awarded, that does not diminish their motivation. Over the past few months, they have already had many special experiences. For example, Rašković managed to overcome her stage fright.
"That happens automatically when you organize an event where you suddenly have to speak in front of a hundred people," she says with a laugh. She is referring to organizing The Mini Jamboree, a mini variant of the iGEM Competition with teams from Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands.
For Meulendijks, developing her leadership skills was a personal milestone. "There are seven of us, all different. Yet we have already achieved so much together. That gives me a lot of satisfaction."
Soon they will be able to transfer their enthusiasm to a new group of students joining iGEM Eindhoven. The new batch will start an entirely new project. Rašković concludes, "Meanwhile, we continue to work steadily on our vaccine."
