First-in-kind anticancer therapy combining light-controllable cytotoxic peptides and dendritic cell-based immunotherapy

Project LIGHTHER (LIGHt-boosted THERapy) focuses on basic studies and early preclinical development of a groundbreaking therapy for one of the deadliest human diseases - lung cancer. The therapy includes in-patient activation of the immune system by light-controllable cytotoxic peptides, ex vivo loading of the patient’s dendritic cells (DCs) with exosomes or cancer cell lysates obtained using the same peptides, and treatment of the patients with the loaded DCs. Optimisation of efficacy and safety planned as the main outcome of the Project will pave the way for future preclinical and clinical studies of a radically novel, photosensitive drug. The main impact of the LIGHTHER Project in the long run will be creating a market segment for photopharmacology-based therapies. The participating institutions are complementary in their expertise, which will be transferred between them through secondments, research, and training. Lumobiotics, a small and medium enterprise (SME) with experience in drug development, will coordinate the work; Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv will focus on the preparation and analysis of the peptides; National Cancer Institute of Ukraine will contribute its expertise in DC-based immunotherapy; SME Bienta and Amsterdam University Medical Center will do the in vitro and in vivo preclinical research. Six work packages are planned: 1) investigation of the immunogenic potential of light-controllable peptides; 2) evaluation of safety of the treatment by light-controllable peptides; 3) study of the DC activation by cancer cells treated by light-controllable peptides; 4) in vivo testing of the combination therapy on a lung cancer rodent model; 5) synthesis, laboratory scale peptide production, and analytics; 6) communication, dissemination, and management. The participating institutions will collaborate toward advancing the therapy to clinical applications, during the Project and after its completion.