May 6, 2020

May 6, 2020

Consortium Frame Therapeutics, Amsterdam UMC and UMC Groningen receives ERDF grant to develop cancer vaccines

Consortium Frame Therapeutics, Amsterdam UMC and UMC Groningen receives ERDF grant to develop cancer vaccines

A collaboration project between Frame Therapeutics and two clinical parties from the University Medical Centers in Amsterdam (Amsterdam UMC) and Groningen (UMCG) with a total research budget of 1.2 million Euros has received the Kansen voor West grant to cover 40% of the project named ‘Framome’. Kansen voor West is a subsidy that is part of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The ERDF stimulates regional economies and innovative collaborations between (small and medium-sized) businesses, knowledge institutions and government bodies; a good fit with this consortium that combines specific knowledge on bioinformatics, big data analysis and genome sequencing with clinical expertise, specifically in pancreatic and lung oncology.

Frame Therapeutics focuses on the development of vaccines for the treatment of cancer, based on so-called ‘FRAME neoantigens’ (FRAMES). The immune system recognizes FRAMES as proteins on the surface of tumor cells that emerge as a result of errors in the DNA of a cancer patient (Frameshifts). Frame Therapeutics’ platform ‘FramePro’ combines cutting-edge sequencing methods with novel bioinformatics technologies to analyze the DNA and RNA of the tumor and identify FRAMES. The consortium will test the platform using samples of pancreatic and lung tumor tissue. The project findings will be an important step towards developing a personalized cancer vaccine, based on the FRAMES specific for the tumor, that may elicit strong anti-tumor immune responses. The first clinical tests in patients are expected to start next year and aim to offer an immunotherapy that contributes to major clinical benefits with minimal side effects and toxicities.
 
Prof. dr. Marc Besselink (oncological surgeon, Amsterdam UMC): “Pancreatic cancer is characterized by an aggressive disease course. It is still one of the deadliest types of cancer, with hardly any new therapies available. We are delighted to be awarded this collaborative project to test whether Frame neoantigens are widely present in pancreatic tumors and could form the basis for the development of new, personalized FRAME vaccines.”
 
Prof. dr. Harry Groen (lung oncologist, UMC Groningen): “Immunotherapy is already widely used in patients with metastatic lung cancer. However, the response to immunotherapy is not optimal for a large number of patients. This project will help us gain insight in the potential of using Frame neoantigens as targets for new therapeutic lung cancer vaccines.”
 
Dr. Wigard Kloosterman (Chief Scientific Officer, Frame Therapeutics): “This ERDF project enables us to lay the groundwork for a completely new concept of immunotherapy. Our FramePro technology approaches the reading of the DNA and RNA of a tumor in a unique manner. We will be looking at the occurrence of FRAMES in pancreas and lung tumors on an unprecedented large scale. This is an important step towards the clinical testing of Frame vaccines."
 
Frame Therapeutics is a privately funded biotechnology startup, located at the Amsterdam Science Park and founded by Prof. dr. Ronald Plasterk, Prof. dr. Bob Löwenberg and Prof. dr. Dinko Valerio in December 2018. The company focuses on developing a proprietary approach for immunotherapy against cancer, based on precise analysis of the DNA and RNA of the tumor of a patient, and using that information to supply the best vaccine against properties specific for the tumor. The strong anti-tumor immune response elicited by FRAME vaccines may contribute to major clinical benefits for patients with cancer. 
 
Amsterdam UMC is the collaboration of both university medical centers of Amsterdam that was founded in 2018, after the administrative merge of the Vrije Universiteit Medical Center and the Amsterdam Medical Center. Project partners involved on behalf of Amsterdam UMC are Prof. dr. Marc Besselink, pancreas surgeon and expert in pancreatic oncology; Dr. Jan Koster, specialist in the fields of bioinformatics and big data; Dr. Maarten Bijlsma, coordinator of the pancreas biobank and pancreatic- and esophageal cancer specialist. 
 
University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) is an advanced medical center with extended experience and history in oncological research.  Project partners involved on behalf of UMCG are Prof. dr. Harry Groen, expert in lung oncology and project lead of numerous lung cancer studies; Prof. dr. Wim Timens, pathologist; Dr. Leon van Kempen, medical biologist. 

For more information please contact Frame Therapeutics:
info@frametherapeutics.com
+31 (0)20 237 49 70

A collaboration project between Frame Therapeutics and two clinical parties from the University Medical Centers in Amsterdam (Amsterdam UMC) and Groningen (UMCG) with a total research budget of 1.2 million Euros has received the Kansen voor West grant to cover 40% of the project named ‘Framome’. Kansen voor West is a subsidy that is part of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The ERDF stimulates regional economies and innovative collaborations between (small and medium-sized) businesses, knowledge institutions and government bodies; a good fit with this consortium that combines specific knowledge on bioinformatics, big data analysis and genome sequencing with clinical expertise, specifically in pancreatic and lung oncology.

Frame Therapeutics focuses on the development of vaccines for the treatment of cancer, based on so-called ‘FRAME neoantigens’ (FRAMES). The immune system recognizes FRAMES as proteins on the surface of tumor cells that emerge as a result of errors in the DNA of a cancer patient (Frameshifts). Frame Therapeutics’ platform ‘FramePro’ combines cutting-edge sequencing methods with novel bioinformatics technologies to analyze the DNA and RNA of the tumor and identify FRAMES. The consortium will test the platform using samples of pancreatic and lung tumor tissue. The project findings will be an important step towards developing a personalized cancer vaccine, based on the FRAMES specific for the tumor, that may elicit strong anti-tumor immune responses. The first clinical tests in patients are expected to start next year and aim to offer an immunotherapy that contributes to major clinical benefits with minimal side effects and toxicities.
 
Prof. dr. Marc Besselink (oncological surgeon, Amsterdam UMC): “Pancreatic cancer is characterized by an aggressive disease course. It is still one of the deadliest types of cancer, with hardly any new therapies available. We are delighted to be awarded this collaborative project to test whether Frame neoantigens are widely present in pancreatic tumors and could form the basis for the development of new, personalized FRAME vaccines.”
 
Prof. dr. Harry Groen (lung oncologist, UMC Groningen): “Immunotherapy is already widely used in patients with metastatic lung cancer. However, the response to immunotherapy is not optimal for a large number of patients. This project will help us gain insight in the potential of using Frame neoantigens as targets for new therapeutic lung cancer vaccines.”
 
Dr. Wigard Kloosterman (Chief Scientific Officer, Frame Therapeutics): “This ERDF project enables us to lay the groundwork for a completely new concept of immunotherapy. Our FramePro technology approaches the reading of the DNA and RNA of a tumor in a unique manner. We will be looking at the occurrence of FRAMES in pancreas and lung tumors on an unprecedented large scale. This is an important step towards the clinical testing of Frame vaccines."
 
Frame Therapeutics is a privately funded biotechnology startup, located at the Amsterdam Science Park and founded by Prof. dr. Ronald Plasterk, Prof. dr. Bob Löwenberg and Prof. dr. Dinko Valerio in December 2018. The company focuses on developing a proprietary approach for immunotherapy against cancer, based on precise analysis of the DNA and RNA of the tumor of a patient, and using that information to supply the best vaccine against properties specific for the tumor. The strong anti-tumor immune response elicited by FRAME vaccines may contribute to major clinical benefits for patients with cancer. 
 
Amsterdam UMC is the collaboration of both university medical centers of Amsterdam that was founded in 2018, after the administrative merge of the Vrije Universiteit Medical Center and the Amsterdam Medical Center. Project partners involved on behalf of Amsterdam UMC are Prof. dr. Marc Besselink, pancreas surgeon and expert in pancreatic oncology; Dr. Jan Koster, specialist in the fields of bioinformatics and big data; Dr. Maarten Bijlsma, coordinator of the pancreas biobank and pancreatic- and esophageal cancer specialist. 
 
University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) is an advanced medical center with extended experience and history in oncological research.  Project partners involved on behalf of UMCG are Prof. dr. Harry Groen, expert in lung oncology and project lead of numerous lung cancer studies; Prof. dr. Wim Timens, pathologist; Dr. Leon van Kempen, medical biologist. 

For more information please contact Frame Therapeutics:
info@frametherapeutics.com
+31 (0)20 237 49 70