Dr. Richard Stratford and Dr. Trevor Clancy are the founders of NEC OncoImmunity AS, a company that has developed artificial intelligence technologies against cancer, which will now also be used for a SARS-COV-2 vaccine.

Artificial intelligence in the fight against COVID-19

/in , /by

Dr. Richard Stratford and Dr. Trevor Clancy, founders of OncoImmunity

Our member NEC OncoImmunity has adapted their cancer-fighting artificial intelligence technology to combat COVID-19.

Advanced cancer technologies and artificial intelligence may prove to be key in the search for a vaccine against the SARS-COV-2 virus. The Norwegian biotech company NEC OncoImmunity AS (NOI) is now accelerating efforts to create a vaccine to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This COVID-19 project represents an exciting opportunity for NOI to showcase its AI-driven epitope prediction platform the “NEC Immune Profiler” in the field of infectious disease. Whilst NOI has focused its efforts to-date on the oncology field, especially the design of personalized therapeutic cancer vaccines, its AL-platform is equally well suited to designing vaccines to address infectious diseases,” said Dr. Richard Stratford, Chief Executive Officer, at NEC OncoImmunity.

This week, NEC OncoImmunity AS announced analysis results from efforts using AI prediction platforms to design blueprints for SARS-CoV-2 vaccines that can drive potent T-cell responses in the majority of the global population.

These AI prediction platforms are based on the AI technology used by NEC and NOI in the development of personalized neoantigen cancer vaccines.

“It is encouraging that our AI and bioinformatics platform can design vaccine blueprints that have the potential to induce a broad T-cell response, that may not only be protective, but also stimulate a long-lived memory immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 and its future mutated versions”, said Dr. Trevor Clancy, Chief Scientific Officer, at NEC OncoImmunity and the lead corresponding author in the paper.

Artificial intelligence against cancer

NEC OncoImmunity is a Norwegian biotech company, founded by Dr. Richard Stratford and Dr. Trevor Clancy in 2014 and the company has been a member of Oslo Cancer Cluster since its early days.

The founders’ vision was to use innovative software solutions for the development of personalized neoantigen vaccines. The machine learning software they have developed can identify neoantigens, which are key to unlocking the immune system and combating cancer.

NEC OncoImmunity developed the technology and grew the company in the Oslo Cancer Cluster ecosystem, making use of the cluster’s advice and support, and networking and partnering opportunities.

Backed by a tech corporation

In 2019, the Japanese multinational tech corporation NEC acquired OncoImmunity AS. NEC had recently launched an artificial intelligence driven drug discovery business and stated that NEC OncoImmunity AS would be integral in developing NEC’s immunotherapy pipeline.

NEC OncoImmunity have been working hard for the last months to adapt their technologies to help in the fight against COVID-19.

“As a company that seeks to enhance the well-being of society, NEC will continue to capitalize on research and development that maximizes the strengths of our AI technology to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. In collaboration with companies and institutions around the world, we aim to enable people to live their daily lives with as much safety and security as possible,” said Motoo Nishihara, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at NEC.

NEC is now publishing this research to support scientific advancements in the field and is ready to start partnering efforts to pursue the development of an effective vaccine targeting the global population.

 

Sign up to our monthly newsletter

New member: Glaxo Smith Kline

/in , /by

Image of Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park

In this article series, we will introduce the new members of our oncology cluster.

Find out how Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK), the latest global pharmaceutical company to enter into our ecosystem, is contributing to the oncology field.

Glaxo Smith Kline is one of the largest research-based pharmaceutical companies in the world, with over 80 employees located in Norway. The company was founded in 2001, but its history can be traced all the way back to the 1700s. Today, they have an impressive portfolio of vaccines, as well as many promising immunotherapy treatments underway.

We asked a couple of questions to Halvard Grønlien, country medical director of GSK Norway, to find out more about their plans in the oncology area.

Tell us about GSK and how the company is involved in the cancer field.

“GSK is a science-led global healthcare company with more than 100 000 employees in over 150 countries and around 80 people in GSK Norway. Our goal is to be one of the world’s most innovative, best performing and trusted healthcare companies. Our pharmaceutical and vaccines businesses have a broad portfolio of innovative and established vaccines and medicines with commercial leadership in respiratory and HIV. Our vaccines business has a portfolio of more than 30 vaccines, helping to protect people against 21 diseases. We are the biggest supplier of vaccines to the Norwegian immunization program. Our R&D approach focuses on science related to the immune system, use of genetics and advanced technologies, and our strategy is to bring differentiated, high-quality and needed healthcare products to as many people as possible.

“Within oncology, we are committed to maximizing patient survival through the development of transformational medicines. Since 2018, we have more than doubled the number of oncology assets in clinical development through our own science, the acquisition of TESARO and other alliances. We aim to deliver a sustainable flow of new treatments based on a diversified portfolio of investigational medicines utilizing modalities such as small molecules, antibodies, antibody drug conjugates and cells, either alone or in combination. Our innovative portfolio focuses on four cutting edge areas of science that we believe offer the greatest opportunities to provide meaningful solutions for patients:

  • Immuno-oncology: using the human immune system to treat cancer
  • Cell therapy: engineering human T-cells to target cancer
  • Cancer epigenetics: modulating the gene-regulatory system of the epigenome to exert anti-cancer effects
  • Synthetic lethality: targeting two mechanisms at the same time which together, but not alone, have substantial effects against cancer”

Why did GSK join Oslo Cancer Cluster?

“GSK has an increasing pipeline of new oncology assets and in the process of establishing a network within oncology. Oslo Cancer Cluster is an important part of the oncology landscape in Norway and indeed an important partner for GSK. We are looking forward to partnering with Oslo Cancer Cluster when arranging scientific meetings and dialogues, bringing investigators together for fruitful clinical research collaborations, and bridging GSK global discovery team with biotech/startup community in Norway looking for new R&D investments.”

gsk logo

Sign up to our monthly newsletter

New member: Vesteraalens

/in , /by

Image of Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park

Our non-profit membership organisation is growing and in this article series, you will be introduced to each new member that joins our cluster.

Find out why a company specialising in seafood and marine ingredients has become a member of an oncology cluster.

Vesteraalens is one of the newest members of Oslo Cancer Cluster. The company was founded in Norway in 1912 and has been producing high-quality seafood for over a century. Among other things, the company produced the food supplies for the famous explorer Roald Amundsen’s expedition through the Northeast Passage.

The fish oil Omega-3 was not only an essential component of a famous explorer’s diet, it could also become an important supplement to cancer treatments. Vesteraalens are exploring the health benefits of Omega-3 oil to improve clinical nutrition for patients undergoing cancer treatments. We talked to Viktor B. Johnsen, CEO at Vesteraalens, to find out more about what they do in the cancer field.

Could you briefly describe Vesteraalens and the role you are taking in cancer and health?

“Vesteraalens AS is an innovative seafood- and marine ingredients company, which produces a wide variety of products, like fresh cod and haddock loin filets, fishballs, soup and ingredients like marine Omega-3 oil, proteins and minerals. Vesteraalens has a vision to become an important contributor to research and development in the marine ingredients sector with focus on nutrition, sustainability and ethical production. Much focus and research these days are on the use of Omega-3 oil in clinical nutrition. There are findings indicating that Omega-3 supplements during cancer treatments have significant positive health benefits for the patients,” said Johnsen.

Why did Vesteraalens join Oslo Cancer Cluster?

“Oslo Cancer Cluster provides a unique opportunity to get in touch with other professionals interested in clinical nutrition as a supplement to cancer treatment. Our motivation for membership in Oslo Cancer Cluster is closely related to further research concerning the effects of Omega-3 for the immune-system and especially related to cancer treatment. The data collected so far show significantly positive results and we are eager to do more research with potential collaborating Oslo Cancer Cluster’s partners to hopefully be able to document the effects scientifically. We find the network in Oslo Cancer Cluster very valuable,” said Johnsen.

 

Vesteraalens logo

 

Sign up to our monthly newsletter

Photo: Eva Dang / Unsplash

LINK Medical opens new London office

/in , /by

Photo of London by Eva Dang, Unsplash

Our member Link Medical has expanded its organisation with an office in London.

LINK Medical is a full-service contract research organisation that provides product development services for the pharmaceutical and medical device industries across Europe. The company was founded in Norway in 1995 and has since then grown to employ 175 people from various specialist backgrounds, including a specialized oncology team.

Now, LINK Medical’s clinical research services have also expanded to biopharma and medtech in the UK, with an office in London.

LINK Medical CEO, Dr. Ola Gudmundsen says: “We look forward to start building on the competent team already present in the UK to further engage with this important market. We can now offer our customers enhanced service capacity in the UK, helping to drive forward their clinical projects, and thus supporting and improving healthcare for all.”

We are happy that LINK Medical is a part of our cluster organisation and that they are contributing to accelerate the development of cancer treatments.

Sign up to our monthly newsletter