Last month, the consortium members of the Nano-Engine project gathered in Utrecht (NL) for the kick-off meeting of this exciting project focused on targeted gene therapy. Nano-Engine started on April 1st 2023 and will run for 3 years, funded by the EU EIC Pathfinder open programme. The main goal of Nano-Engine is to demonstrate preliminary safety and efficacy of a targeted nanoparticle technology-based therapy for CD19+ B cell malignancies.
In this kick-off meeting, a representative of each of the consortium members gave an update of the work done thus far and discussed the next steps. Impressive were the achievements already reported by Nanocell Therapeutics concerning the tested components of the different nanoparticles assembled and the preliminary data concerning in vitro testing. From Karolinska Institutet and Imperial College London insights were provided on the tools based on Raman spectroscopy that will be used for 3D Raman imaging and single particle analysis, to characterized the nanoparticles prepared within this project. To further complement these technologies, SINTEF discussed the mass spectroscopy technology available in Norway for physicochemical characterization. Together, these technologies that are the most advanced in the field, will provide a comprehensive understanding of the properties of the nanoparticles, with different components, and correlating these with their efficacy. Universiteit Utrecht discussed additional strategies to conjugate targeting moieties such as nanobodies or scFv to the surface of the nanoparticles developed in this project. The next consortium meeting will take place in May 2024 in Norway, hosted by SINTEF. In the meantime, monthly project meetings are held to discuss the progress of each work package.
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