2M-euro FP6 funding from Crete Univ/novosom AG

A consortium of scientists led by Greece's University of Crete Medical School and Germany-based novosom AG have been awarded a grant, worth 2.0 million euros ($2.6 million) from the European Commission Sixth Framework program for the discovery and validation of new therapeutic strategies for cancer.

The research program, code-named Apotherapy, will develop methods to activate a protein at the surface of ovarian, lung and bladder tumor cells which will stop their growth. This protein, called CD40, can also induce the destruction of malignant cells by the body's own defences. The scientists who participate in the program aim to combine CD40-triggering with chemotherapy or with innovative drugs that will cut off signals necessary for the survival of cancer cells. This strategy is expected to achieve maximal therapy with minimal side effects.

Steffen Panzner, founder and chief scientific officer of novosom, says that "the Apotherapy grant substantially boosts our longstanding efforts to develop therapeutic options based on CD40, a key molecule in the development of autoimmune and oncology indications. The Apotherapy consortium provides unique strength in that it combines expertise in small molecule therapeutics, recombinant proteins, oligo therapeutics and targeted delivery to tackle a common target."