Neuroblastomas are one of the most frequently occurring tumours in childhood and adolescence. The DKTK’s new approach is the first to tackle the root cause of the disease. It’s based on a target structure that, by interacting with microRNAs, interferes with the regulation of genes playing an important role in neuroblastoma development.
“If we are successful in bringing this approach to the clinic, it will make a big difference to affected children and their parents," Professor Schulte says. “The LDC is a great Partner. It gives us the chance to move the project from our laboratories into pharmaceutical development."
As part of the cooperation, the partners intend to identify and validate initial drug candidates from LDC’s compound library. In parallel, the LDC will use its industry contacts to win potential pharmaceutical partners in good time for subsequent clinical development.
The LDC and the Helmholtz Association already have their sights set on further collaborations. In order to translate innovative approaches into application, the Helmholtz Association is supporting selected projects via the Helmholtz Validation Fund (HVF).
“Alongside the support given by our internal start-up and validation instruments, we want to enable the use of established transfer models such as the LDC, which was initiated by Max Planck Innovation GmbH," Dr Rolf Zettl, Managing Director of the Helmholtz Association, says. “Wherever it is possible to bring critical mass together and exploit synergies in the German science system, we should be using cross-organization technology transfer initiatives like this one. And in the case of the highly specialized LDC, it’s clear that we don’t have to reinvent the wheel."
The Helmholtz Association is Germany’s biggest scientific organization, comprising several centers internationally recognized for their top-level health research, including the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the DKTK’s core center.
“We are delighted to count the Helmholtz Association among our research partners, alongside the Max Planck Society. Thanks to their particular strength in the biomedical area, they provide numerous project ideas offering very promising approaches for application-oriented drug discovery," Dr Bert Klebl, Managing Director and CSO of the LDC, comments.