At a time when its work is taking on some of the most pressing and complex problems in health sciences, it might be tough to focus on just one innovation from Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
Fred Hutch was recognized for how researchers have demonstrated the effectiveness of a new method for getting immune cells to fight solid tumors — by spreading them like jam onto ultra-thin sheets of metal mesh, and then laying the mesh onto the tumors.
“It’s a technology at the interface of immunology and chemical engineering, and it’s a great time. Five years ago it wouldn’t have been possible, the materials wouldn’t have been available,” said senior study author Matthias Stephan, a faculty member in the Fred Hutch Clinical Research Division. “It’s prime time for immunotherapy.”
In December, Stephan said the findings take a significant step toward making cell therapies effective against solid tumors by showing that a thin metal mesh loaded with T cells engineered to fight ovarian cancer cleared tumors in 70% of treated mice.
See this post for more background on this category. Other finalists: Athira Pharma, Blaze Bioscience, Sana Biotechnology, Sound Life Sciences.
