New EU project to improve chances of treating colorectal cancer

IGP researchers Kristina N Ekdahl and Bo Nilsson are partners in the newly initiated EU project THERABOT, together with Yuji Teramura, guest professor at IGP. The project aims to develop a new strategy to treat cancer.

THERABOT utilizes a novel approach in the fight against cancer by development of engineered biohybrid agents, iBots. These iBots represent a significant leap in bacterial cancer therapy by combining synthetic biology and nanotechnology to encapsulate therapeutic bacteria with protective polymeric coatings. This encapsulation aims to enhance the delivery and efficacy of bacteria to colonise tumour tissue, drastically reducing the adverse immune responses and systemic toxicity associated with traditional bacterial cancer therapy.

The new project has been awarded EUR 1.54 million, out of which EUR 138 000 to Uppsala University. Ten leading academic institutions and two companies in France, Spain, Sweden, Japan, Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Thailand are involved.