Immatics biotechnologies GmbH, a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of peptide-based immunotherapeutics for the treatment of cancer, is receiving grant funding totaling more than � 566,000 from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research ("BMBF") for two new research projects.
The majority of the grant is earmarked for preclinical development of a new therapeutic vaccine for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. Within the framework of the "PANCMAP" project, immatics will be using tumor tissue to identify especially suitable peptide antigens that specifically activate the human immune system against cancer cells, thus mobilizing the body's own selfdefense mechanisms. The smaller portion of the BMBF grant will go to the "imaSorb" project. The objective here is to develop a process for isolating tumor-specific T-cells from the blood of cancer patients. The aim is to create the prerequisites for evolving the transfer of tumor-specific T-cells - which will first be activated outside the patient's body - into a routine oncological application.
The "imaSorb" project is being conducted in cooperation with the Institute of Immunology at the University of Tubingen in Germany. The new grants were approved for a period of 18 months within the framework of the BMBF's "BioProfile" program. immatics had already received a � 500,000 BMBF grant last year for the development of new product candidates to combat gastric cancer.
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About BioProfile:
The "BioProfile" funding program of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) aims to support selected regions in Germany with a strong basis in the development of product-oriented applications of modern biotechnology. Since 2001, the "BioRegion Stuttgart / Neckar-Alb", which includes the city of Tubingen, has been one of three regions in Germany receiving support from the BMBF through the BioProfile program.
About immatics:
Immatics (www.immatics) is an independent biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the development of new immunotherapeutic substances for cancer therapy. The product candidates from immatics are based upon tumor-associated peptides (TUMAPs) that specifically stimulate the immune system against cancer cells. In November 2005 - and thus only 22 months after the conclusion of its first round of funding totaling �14 million - the company launched an international clinical study on its product candidate IMA901 for combating renal cell cancer. Further product candidates, also consisting of peptide-based immunotherapeutic substances for cancer therapy, are presently undergoing preclinical development and will serve as the basis for a rapidly expanding product pipeline.
Formed in the year 2000 as a spin-off from the Institute of Immunology at the University of Tubingen, immatics today employs a staff of more than 35 people. The members of immatics' Supervisory Board include the head of the institute, Hans-Georg Rammensee, as well as Actelion co-founder Thomas Widmann, the former global head of regulatory affairs at Bayer AG, Ulrich Granzer, and GPC Biotech CSO Sebastian Meier-Ewert.
For further information please contact:
Immatics biotechnologies GmbH
Dr. Niels Emmerich
Paul-Ehrlich-StraBe
15, D-72076 Tubingen
Germany.
immatics