Like an “Assembly Line”: Project Aims to Simplify the Production of Personalized Cancer Therapies

Under the medical supervision of the Medical Center – University of Freiburg, a consortium of institutes and companies is working to make it easier to produce a promising, personalized cell therapy for cancer

Developing personalized cell therapies for cancer that are safer, more effective, and faster to produce: That is the goal of the RepTIL research consortium, under the medical leadership of the Medical Center – University of Freiburg. The focus is on so-called tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs)—the body’s own immune cells that are extracted from tumor tissue, multiplied in the lab, and then returned to patients to fight cancer. Such therapies are considered promising, but their production has so far been a complex process. The consortium aims to create a standardized procedure—a sort of assembly line—for this purpose. The project will run for three years and is funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space (BMFTR) with 2.8 million euros, of which approximately 700,000 euros will go to the Medical Center – University of Freiburg. This approach is being tested, for example, in the treatment of bladder cancer, a disease that affects approximately 30,000 people in Germany each year and has a poor prognosis in advanced stages.

“TIL therapies have great potential, especially for solid tumors. To ensure this becomes a realistic treatment option for more patients, we need standardized and reliable manufacturing processes,” says Dr. Tino Vollmer, medical project manager at RepTIL and research group leader at the Department of Medicine I at the Medical Center – University of Freiburg. “With RepTIL, we aim to bring together key technological components. These include the selection of suitable immune cells, their expansion, and the evaluation of their efficacy.”

Developing and Testing Cell Therapy in a More Targeted Manner

In TIL therapies, the body’s own immune cells are harvested from tumor tissue. These immune cells are multiplied in the laboratory and then reintroduced into the body. They are designed to specifically target cancer cells. However, the development and production of such therapies have so far been labor-intensive and difficult to standardize.

RepTIL aims to overcome these hurdles. In the project, TILs are isolated from tumor tissue and gently sorted. Modern analytical methods will identify which immune cells are particularly suitable for therapy. The cells are then multiplied under conditions that are as standardized as possible. Finally, the researchers use patient-specific cell models to test whether the immune cells effectively attack tumor cells while sparing healthy cells as much as possible. 

“The use of tumor-infiltrating cells could greatly advance cancer therapy. It is crucial that the production process be safe, effective, and financially viable. The RepTIL project can provide a significant boost in this regard,” says Prof. Dr. Justus Duyster, Medical Director of the Department of Medicine I at the Medical Center – University of Freiburg. 

The Medical Center – University of Freiburg is contributing its expertise in TIL research, T-cell sorting, cell proliferation, and functional testing. The platform will initially be tested using bladder cancer as a case study. Bladder cancer is a suitable model because there is a high unmet medical need in advanced stages of the disease.

About RepTIL

RepTIL stands for “Robust and Efficient Platform for the Development of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocyte Products.” The collaborative project is coordinated by inscreenex GmbH and brings together academic research and development (Medical Center – University of Freiburg and the Hahn-Schickard Institute for Microanalysis Systems) with innovative SME partners (inscreenex GmbH, Sensific GmbH, and Aptamimetics GmbH). The grant reference number is 03LWB0010C.