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lab Page 13 february/march 2017 volume 21, number 1
R&D News ......................... 1 Appointments .................... 6 Pharma Notes.................... 7 New Products .................. 15 Calendar .......................... 17 App Reviews..................... 18
ottawa researchers kill brain cancer in mice with combination immunotheraPies
OTTAWA, ON – A team of researchers from the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) have published new data in Nature Communications showing that a promising combination of immunotherapies can deliver a one-two punch to brain cancer tumours in mice.
As part of their study, Drs. Eric Lacasse, Shawn Beug and Robert Korneluk found that a combination of drugs known as SMAC Mimetics and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) were able to amplify the kill rates of cancer tumour cells. At the same time they discovered a new mechanism by which the combination promotes long-term immunity against glioblastoma tumours. The combination therapy also proved to be highly effective against breast cancer and multiple myeloma.
“These findings represent a significant evolution in our research and the field of immunotherapy... we are the first in the world to show the synergistic tumour-killing impact of combining SMAC Mimetics
(L to R) Drs. Eric Lacasse, Shawn Beug and Robert Korneluk
with immune checkpoint inhibitors for glioblastoma,” said Dr. Korneluk, a professor at the University of Ottawa and senior scientist at the CHEO Research Institute. “You could say it takes two to tango, that it takes a combination strategy to impact cancer cure rates,” he adds.
In 2014, a team of scientists led by Dr. Korneluk discovered that combining SMAC Mimetics with immune stimulators, or live virus therapies, had a synergistic or amplified tumour-killing effect that was greater than either agent on its own. These latest findings show that SMAC Mimetics also have a powerful synergistic effect with ICIs, which are relatively new drugs that are showing great promise in the clinic.
As part of this latest study, SMAC Mimetics known as LCL161 and Birinapant were combined with ICI antibodies targeting PD-1 and CTLA-4 immune checkpoints.
Dr. Lacasse, a scientist at the CHEO Research Institute, adds “Two drug companies have initiated human clinical trials this year to assess the impact of this combination of SMAC Mimetics and ICIs on patients with a variety of cancers.”
Although it could be years before any clinical trials begin for adults or children with the deadly brain cancer, glioblastoma, he says the research team is looking forward to seeing how scientific evidence from these experimental treatments will impact future research initiatives. “It’s an exciting, exploratory field and we hope we’ve hit a home run,” he said.
“This research heightens our understanding of the mechanics behind this double-whammy effect, which both enhances the immune response and weakens tumour cells to immune attack,” commented Beug, lead author of the 2014 and 2017 papers. “We’re hoping that more oncologists and biotech companies test out this combination in clinical trials as we continue to decipher how SMAC Mimetics encourage the immune system to kill cancer cells.”
The research was funded by the Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute, Brain Canada (with financial support from Health Canada through the Canada Brain Research Fund) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. In addition, the work was supported by donations to the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation, the Kiwanis Medical Foundation and the CHEO Foundation.
To see this story online visit
http://laboratoryfocus.ca/ottawaresearchers-kill-brain-cancer-inmice-with-combination-immunotherapies/
news Princess marGaret cancer centre joins roche’s Global cancer research network
MISSISSAUGA, ON – Toronto’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre has joined Hoffmann-La Roche Limited’s (Roche Canada) global cancer immunotherapy Centres of Research Excellence (imCORE) Network.
The new network hopes to bring together leading scientific and clinical experts in cancer immunotherapy to collaborate on the investigation and development of promising new treatment approaches for the disease. The goal of imCORE is to rapidly initiate pre-clinical
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and clinical research based on the latest scientific discoveries in cancer immunotherapy and to aggregate, as well as share data to help accelerate cancer research.
According to the Canadian Cancer Society, cancer is the leading cause of death in Canada and is responsible for 30 per cent of all deaths in the country. In fact, two out of five Canadians (45 per cent of men and 42 per cent of women) are expected to develop cancer during their lifetimes.
“Cancer is a complex disease, and one that poses a significant burden across the world,” said Ronnie Miller, president and CEO, Roche Canada. “As a research-driven organization, Roche is proud to have the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre join the imCORE Network to help us better understand immune biology and cancer, and to ultimately improve treatment options.”
The imCORE Network is comprised of 21 academic centres, inclusive of Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, from nine countries across the globe, working together to access and share technology, data and expertise to advance science.
“The imCORE Network provides a great opportunity for academic centres like ours to collaborate and explore new concepts, both in the laboratory and in the clinic,” said Dr. Lillian Siu, medical oncologist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and site lead for the imCORE Network. “This type of collective learning is exactly what is needed to make important progress in a field as fast-moving as cancer immunotherapy.”
As a part of a global announcement regarding the launch of the imCORE
ElEctrophysiology laboratory opEns at Montréal hEart institutE
Dr. Denis Roy, Dr. Laurent Macle, Mr. Keeron Tom, Dr. Paul Khairy and Mrs. Melanie La Couture (CNW Group/Montréal Heart Institute Foundation)
MONTRéAL, QC – A new electrophysiology laboratory (EP Lab), equipped with robotic and magnetic navigation, and dedicated to studying congenital heart diseases in Canada has opened at the Montréal Heart Institute (MHI).
Dr. Denis Roy, cardiologist and executive director of the Institute calls the addition of the EP lab an advancement that benefits patients from across Canada and beyond. He adds that just a few decades ago, most children presenting with serious forms of congenital heart diseases died during childhood; today however, more than 90 per cent survive until adulthood, which leads to a rapid increase in the patient population presenting with congenital heart diseases. Thanks to this new robotic magnetic navigation platform, and combined with the expertise of its medical team, Roy believes the MHI has strengthened its international leadership position in the treatment of adult congenital heart diseases.
“This Canadian first will benefit not only Québec patients and those hailing from other provinces, but it will also benefit patients from abroad,” he says.
“Thanks to this new (EP) lab, we will be able to perform interventions to treat arrhythmia in patients presenting with the most complex forms of cardiac malformations,” adds Dr. Paul Khairy, cardiologist-electrophysiologist and director of the Adult Congenital Heart Centre at the MHI.
He explains that robotic magnetic navigation enables complex interventions aimed at mitigating arrhythmia by destroying the responsible electric cells and thus restoring a normal cardiac rhythm.
“Thanks to the robotic and magnetic system, we can effectively and accurately guide catheters in a safe manner through complex anatomies caused by cardiac malformations,” says Khairy. “The first patients we treated with this new modality presented with serious forms of congenital heart diseases. A catheter ablation would not have been a viable option in those cases if it weren’t for the sophisticated functionalities this robotic magnetic navigation platform offers.”
Construction of the lab was made possible with the support of the Canada Foundation for Innovation, St-Jude Medical, Dalfen Family Foundation and the Montréal Heart Institute Foundation.
To see this story online visit
http://laboratoryfocus.ca/electrophysiology-laboratory-opens-at-Montréal-heart-institute
news
Network, Roche is investing up to 100 million Swiss Francs (more than $130 million Canadian dollars) to support basic and clinical research collaborations related to cancer immunotherapy. The investment is incremental to Roche’s on-going research and development of investigational medicines and treatment approaches in the field of cancer immunotherapy.
To see this story online visit
http://laboratoryfocus.ca/princessmargaret-cancer-centre-joins-rochesglobal-cancer-research-network
biocanrx, and Partners, announce fundinG to manufacture first made-incanada car-t cells
OTTAWA, ON – BioCanRx and its partners are funding 16 collaborative research projects aimed at developing clinical Chimeric Antigen Receptor modified T cell (CAR-T) manufacturing capabilities in Canada.
According to the organization, CAR-Ts are a powerful new tool for treating cancer and have begun to provide hope to patients without other therapeutic options to treat and cure their disease. Such therapies are also considered on the cutting edge of cancer therapeutics and have shown promise in paediatric and adult patients with certain blood cancers such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoma.
While promising, the development of such therapies also require sophisticated manufacturing and expertise. Canada currently does have the basic laboratory infrastructure in place, but this new funding will be used to fully develop the expertise and capacity required to deliver this technology.
Additionally, the research projects will advance several innovative engineered T cell designs, benefiting from this infrastructure and capacity investment, and accelerate delivery of these novel concepts into clinical testing in Canada.
Dr. John Bell, scientific director, BioCanRx adds that this CAR-T manufacturing initiative is unique in that it shows that Canada’s academic community recognizes
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the gap and stepping up to drive Canadian is solutions to meet grassroots efforts taking place in the U.S., China and Europe.
To help ensure CAR-T cell therapy is brought to patients safely and effectively, BioCanRx is also funding a companion Clinical, Social, and Economic Impact project. It will review the existing base of knowledge and involve patient consultation to design a rigorous CAR-T clinical trial protocol ready to implement once the products are ready for a Phase 1 clinical trial.
To see this story online visit
http://laboratoryfocus.ca/biocanrxand-partners-announce-fundingto-manufacture-first-made-incanada-car-t-cells
merck’s $15 million investment helPs launch oncoPole
QUébeC CITy, QC – Various public and private sector stakeholders in Québec, including Merck & Co. Inc. and the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS), have teamed up to launch a new research, development and investment hub in the hopes of accelerating the fight against cancer.
The hub, called Oncopole, is being backed by a $15-million investment by Merck that will be administered over three years and overseen by the FRQS. Oncopole will aspire to strengthen the research and innovation ecosystem in the province and bring together various stakeholders under one flagship hub in oncology.
“Thanks to its energy and effervescence, and its many high-level research universities and infrastructures, Québec has become the ideal site for large-scale projects,” said Dominique Anglade, Québec Minister of Economy, Science and Innovation. “The Oncopole will be a major highcalibre hub that will help position and support Québec experts as we propel our innovations on the Canadian and international scene,” she adds.
The creation and planning of the new centre included the involvement of more than 50 experts from Québec’s scientific community, who also provided key insight into helping to identify what its priorities should be going forward. According to Merck and FRQS, these priorities will include incubating and creating new companies, capitalizing on innovation and cancer care in Québec, and better positioning cancer care in the province in terms of clinical outcome, patient experience and system efficiency.
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solving cancEr’s biggEst quEstions: oicr rEsEarchErs to bE part of cancEr rEsEarch uK’s grand challEngE
Dr. Steven Gallinger Dr. Lincoln Stein
TORONTO, ON – Two Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) researchers, Drs. Lincoln Stein and Steven Gallinger, have been selected as members of one of the first global research teams to receive Cancer Research UK’s Grand Challenge grants.
The Grand Challenge aims to help overcome the biggest challenges facing cancer research in a global effort to beat cancer sooner.
Stein and Gallinger’s pioneering team will study samples from five continents to understand the DNA damage associated with different cancers, to understand what causes them and if they can be prevented. The project will be led by Professor Mike Stratton at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge, with collaborators from France, the U.S. and U.K.
According to Grand Challenge, the winning projects are set to revolutionize our understanding of cancer, and how to better prevent, diagnose and treat the disease. The international, multidisciplinary teams will bring together people, technology and knowledge on a scale that has not previously been undertaken in cancer.
“One of the most intriguing aspects of cancer is how much the rate and types of cancer differ from one part of the world to another,” said Stein, who is interim scientific director of OICR and director of OICR’s Informatics and Bio-computing Program. “This project is the first large-scale attempt to systematically study how geography influences cancer at the genomic level, and will lead to new understandings of how diet, lifestyle, the environment and genetics interact to cause these regional differences,” he said. Joining Dr. Stein in this initiatve is Dr. Gallinger, head of Hepatobiliary/Pancreatic Surgical Oncology Program at University Health Network and Mount Sinai Hospital and leader of OICR’s PanCuRx Translational Research Initiative. “Dr.Gallinger and I are proud to participate in this groundbreaking project by contributing scientific expertise and samples collected from Canadians across several cancer types,” adds Stein.
“Cancer Research UK set up the Grand Challenge awards to bring a renewed focus and energy to the fight against cancer,” said Sir Harpal Kumar, Cancer Research UK’s chief executive. “We want to shine a light on the toughest questions that stand in the way of progress. We’re incredibly excited to be able to support these exceptional teams as they help us achieve our ambition.”
Cancer Research UK set up Grand Challenge in 2015 and committed up to £100 million (CDN$164 million) to this new approach to help increase the pace of research.
Phase two of the Grand Challenge, when Cancer Research UK plans to issue a set of second challenges, will launch this summer.
To see this story online visit
http://laboratoryfocus.ca/ oicrresearchers-to-be-part-of-cancer-research-uks-grand-challenge-trying-toanswer-cancers-biggest-questions
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news
in Québec the fertile environment needed to build this unique alliance between public and private partners,” said Chirfi Guindo, president and managing director of Merck Canada Inc.
Additionally, the FRQS and Merck hope that this initial investment will attract other partners to join the Oncopole and make it a truly collaborative initiative.
“We may be the first private partner but we hope that other businesses will join us so that we may combine our strengths and reach ambitious well-being goals for our patients,” adds Guindo.
The Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) of the Université de Montréal has been selected to host Oncopole’s coordinating offices.
To see this story online visit
http://www.laboratoryfocus.ca/cpdcteams-with-dana-farber-cancer-institute-on-cancer-research-initiative/
(L to R) Adam H. Schechter, president, Global Human Health, Merck, Mr. Rémi Quirion, Québec Chief Scientist and Chairman of the boards of directors of the Fonds de recherche du Québec, Mr. Chirfi Guindo, President and Managing Director of Merck Canada Inc. and Mr. Jacques Simard, Oncopole leader – axis 2
Dr. Pamela Ohashi, Director, Tumour Immunotherapy Program at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network (Photo credit: UHN)
immune theraPy scientists discover distinct cells that block cancer-fiGhtinG immune cells
TORONTO, ON – Princess Margaret Cancer Centre scientists have discovered a distinct cell population in tumours that inhibits the body’s immune response to fight cancer.
The findings, published online in Nature Medicine, could prove critical to understanding more about why patients will or will not respond to immune therapies, says principal investigator Pamela Ohashi, director, Tumour Immunotherapy Program at the cancer centre, University Health Network.
“We’ve uncovered a potential new approach to modulate the immune response to cancer,” says Dr. Ohashi. “By looking at tumour biology from this different perspective we’ll have a better understanding of the barriers that prevent a strong immune response. This can help advance drug development to target these barriers.”
The research team with international collaborators analyzed more than 100 patient samples from ovarian and other cancer types to discover a distinct population of cells found in some tumours. This population of cells suppresses the growth of cancer-fighting immune cells, thereby limiting the ability of the immune system to fight off cancer.
For patients, down the road Dr. Ohashi envisions a new era of combined therapies to simultaneously target and kill these suppressive cells while augmenting the immune response against cancer. “This would really strengthen the way clinicians can treat cancer using immune therapy, which holds so much promise for patients.”
The team’s next avenue of research will be focused on identifying a “biomarker” that can identify this distinct suppressive cell elsewhere in the body – for example, in blood or other samples – as a potential predictive clinical tool to determine when these cells are present in patients, which currently cannot be done.
Dr. Ohashi’s research was funded
by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation.
To see this story online visit
http://laboratoryfocus.ca/immunetherapy-scientists-discover-distinctcells-that-block-cancer-fightingimmune-cells/
