Anette Weyergang demonstrated the PCI technology to the Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg during her visit to Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park.

Radforsk to invest NOK 4.5 million in cancer research

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Prime Minister Erna Solberg pays a visit to one of the cancer research labs.

Radforsk, the Radium Hospital Research Foundation, a partner of Oslo Cancer Cluster, is awarding several million Norwegian kroner to new research that fights cancer with light.

Radforsk is an evergreen investor focusing on companies that develop cancer treatment. Since its inception in 1986, Radforsk has allocated NOK 200 million of its profit back into cancer research at Oslo University Hospital. This year, four researchers will be awarded a total of NOK 4.5 million. One of them is Anette Weyergang, who will receive NOK 3.75 million over a three-year period.

“I’m so happy for this grant. As researchers, we have to find funding for our own projects. I didn’t have any funding for the project I have now applied and been granted funds for,” says Anette Weyergang.

Anette Weyergang is one of the researchers who has received funding from Radforsk.

Anette Weyergang is one of the researchers who has received funding from Radforsk.

Anette Weyergang is a project group manager and senior researcher in a research group led by Kristian Berg. The group conducts research in the field of photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photochemical internalisation (PCI). Radforsk’s portfolio company and Oslo Cancer Cluster member PCI Biotech is based on this group’s research.

What is PDT / PCI? Cancer research in the field of photodynamic therapy and photochemical internalisation studies the use of light in direct cancer treatment in combination with drugs, or to deliver drugs that can treat cancer cells or organs affected by cancer.

 

Weyergang is the first researcher ever to receive several million kroner over the course of several years from Radforsk.

“We have donated a total of NOK 200 million to cancer research at Oslo University Hospital, of which NOK 25 million have gone to research in PDT/PCI. We have previously awarded smaller amounts to several researchers, but we now want to use some of our funds to focus on projects we believe in,” says Jónas Einarsson, CEO of Radforsk.

By the deadline on 15 February 2019, Radforsk received a total of eight applications, which were then assessed by external experts.

 

The new research focuses on how to use light to release the cancer drugs more efficiently inside the cancer cells.

The new research focuses on how to use light to release the cancer drugs more efficiently inside the cancer cells.

 

New use of PCI technology

PCI is a technology for delivering drugs and other molecules into the cancer cells and then releasing them by means of light. This allows for a targeted cancer treatment with fewer side effects for patients.

Weyergang will use the funds from Radforsk to research whether PCI technology can be used to make targeted cancer treatment even more precise.

“The project aims to find a method for delivering antibodies to cancer cells using PCI technology. This has never been done before, and if we succeed, it can open up brand new possibilities for using this technology,” says Weyergang.

Initially, she will focus on glioblastoma, which is the most serious form of brain cancer. Glioblastoma is resistant to both chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and has a very high mortality rate.

“This is translational research, so human trials are still a long way off. We will now use both glioblastoma cell lines and animal experimentation to test our hypothesis. We do this to establish what is called a “proof of concept”, which we need to move on to clinical testing,” says Weyergang.

 

The other researchers who have received funding for PDT/PCI research from Radforsk in 2019 are:

  • Kristian Berg and Henry Hirschberg Beckman: NOK 207,500
  • Qian Peng: NOK 300,000
  • Mpuldy Sioud: NOK 300,000

 

What is Radforsk?

  • Since its formation in 1986, Radforsk has generated NOK 600 million in fund assets and channelled NOK 200 million to cancer research, based on a loan of NOK 1 million in equity back in 1986.
  • During this period, NOK 200 million have found its way back to the researchers whose ideas Radforsk has helped to commercialise.
  • NOK 25 million have gone to research in photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photochemical internalisation (PCI). In total, NOK 40 million will be awarded to this research.

 

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From left to right: Jacques Li, Sam Chong, Diana Murguia Barrios and Jason Yip studied how patient recruitment to clinical trials can be improved in Norway with both financial and non-financial incentives.

Should Norway implement a clinical trial league table?

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The students in the picture are Jacques Li, a doctor and entrepreneur from France; Diana Murguia Barrios, an economist and political scientist from Spain; Jason Yip, a chemistry engineer from England; and Sam Chong, a lawyer and economist from Malaysia and Australia.

We asked four MBA students from Cambridge University to evaluate how patient recruitment practices in Norway can be improved.

The number of clinical trials in Norway has been declining over the last few years. There are many reasons behind this trend, but until now there have been few concrete solutions. With the number of cancer patients on the rise, there is a growing need for access to better treatments.

Oslo Cancer Cluster asked four students from Judge Business School at Cambridge University to research how the number of clinical trials in Norway can be improved. The students were Jacques Li, a doctor and entrepreneur from France; Diana Murguia Barrios, an economist and political scientist from Spain; Jason Yip, a chemistry engineer from England; and Sam Chong, a lawyer and economist from Malaysia and Australia.

“The number of clinical trials in Norway is less than half of the number in Denmark.”

The group focused on one of three factors that influence the number of clinical trials in Norway, namely: the patient recruitment practices. After a comparative analysis with other European countries, they came up with two main recommendations on how Norway can improve patient recruitment.

 

Image och doctors and nurses walking in corridor

How do we motivate hospitals and doctors to recruit more patients to clinical trials?

 

One: Motivating hospitals

The group compared patient recruitment in Norway to France, United Kingdom and USA. Norway was the only country where hospitals don’t have any non-financial incentives to recruit patients to clinical trials. If a hospital’s reputation could be improved in a concrete way by having clinical trials, patient recruitment could also be improved.

The group proposed to create a league table for all hospitals, with cancer trial participation as one of the metrics. This would create competition between hospitals, encourage collaboration between smaller hospitals and larger ones, and make information about clinical trials accessible to patients.

“If hospitals were ranked against each other based on clinical trial output, they would more actively recruit into trials due to the reputational incentive.” 

The group also uncovered a misalignment between the funding source and the implementers of the clinical trials. Funding is passed from the Norwegian Health Ministry to the regional health authorities, instead of directly to the hospitals who conduct the trials. The group recommended that the hospitals need direct financial incentives to conduct the trials.

“Regional health authorities in Norway need to ensure that funding provided to them for research is passed down to the hospitals conducting clinical trials.” 

 

Two people holding hands.

How do we raise awareness among patients and doctors about clinical trial participation?

 

Two: Raising awareness

A second discovery in the report was the lack of awareness about clinical trials among both patients and doctors. Patients in Norway lack access to relevant information that would empower them to opt into clinical trials. There was similarly a lack of exposure to clinical trials among early career doctors and a lack of initiatives to collaborate on clinical trials among advanced career doctors.

“Raising awareness among stakeholders is key to improve clinical trial recruitment.” 

The students suggested working in partnership with patient organisations to raise awareness among patients. They recommended a national awareness campaign to inform where patients can find up-to-date information about clinical trials. All hospitals could keep lists of their ongoing clinical trials available on their websites.

“If patients knew the benefits of clinical research, they would select a hospital that is ranked highly.” 

The group also provided recommendations to raise awareness among doctors to work on clinical trials. Rotational programs and supplementary courses on research methods and clinical trials may spark interest among medical students to pursue work in clinical trials. Seminars and workshops can help to both raise awareness and inspire collaborative efforts among doctors in their advanced careers.

 

Oslo Cancer Cluster wishes to extend a big thank you to everyone who agreed to be interviewed for this research project:

  • Ali Areffard, Medical team, Bristol Myers Squibb
  • Øyvind Arnesen, Chairman of the Board, Oslo Cancer Cluster
  • Siri Kolle, Vice President Clinical, Inven2
  • Jónas Einarsson, former Chairman of the Board of Oslo Cancer Cluster and one of the founders of Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park
  • Maiken Engelstad, Deputy Director, Ministry of Health and Care Services
  • Katrine Bryne, Senior Advisor, Legemiddelindustrien (LMI)
  • Kristin Bjordal, Business Manager for Research Support and Research Manager in Oslo Hospital Service (OSS) and Chairman of the Board of NorCrin
  • Ida Kommandtvoll, Advisor, Department of Strategy and Analysis, The Norwegian Cancer Society
  • Knut Martin Torgersen and medical team, Merck
  • Steinar Aamdal, the founder of The Clinical Trial Department, Oslo University Hospital

 

View and download the following PDF of the Cambridge report to learn more.
Note: This is a short version of the report, the fuller version also includes an Appendix containing detailed information about all the underlying data and interview material. Please get in touch with Communications Adviser Sofia Lindén if you are interested in reading the full Appendix.

Download [1.27 MB]

 

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Jeg vil gjerne legge lista høyt og foreslå en felles database for data fra kliniske studier, hvor både firmaer og myndigheter har tilgang til helsedata umiddelbart etter at hver pasient har fått sin behandling, skriver Ketil Widerberg.

Hvordan gjør vi våre mest intime data til gull?

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Ketil Widerberg, general manager, OCC

The following opinion piece was written by Ketil Widerberg, General Manager at Oslo Cancer Cluster, and published in Aftenposten on 1 May 2019. It is a response to an opinion piece written by Nikolai Astrup, the Norwegian Minister of Digitalization, which was published on 22 April 2019. The texts are only available in Norwegian, but a short summary in English is available at the bottom of this page.

 

Helsedata er en voksende gullåre, men vi kan ikke grave i den uten videre.

 

I Aftenposten 17. april svarer digitaliseringsminister Nikolai Astrup (H) på en appell om våre verdifulle data.

Astrup påpeker at data ikke kan sammenlignes med olje, for det er ikke staten, men hver og en av oss, som eier våre egne personopplysninger.

Det gjelder i høyeste grad de mest intime av våre data: helsedata.

 

En gullåre av data

Helsedata er en voksende gullåre, men vi kan ikke grave i den uten videre.

Hadde vi ikke først bygd opp beskyttelse av norske data og kompetanse, ville ikke prosjekter som DoMore blitt til.

Forskerne i DoMore bruker avansert bildeanalyse for å gi mer presise kreftprognoser. Samtidig ville ikke prosjektet eksistert uten internasjonale data og kompetanse.

For næringen som jeg jobber i, helsenæringen, er spørsmålet hvordan vi skal unngå å falle i digitaliseringsfellen. Der har mediebransjen landet.

Facebook og Google får all verdens data gratis gjennom samtykke og tar dermed livsgrunnlaget fra tradisjonelle aktører.

 

Trenger god strategi for kunstig intelligens

For norsk helsenæring blir de to strategiene som digitaliseringsministeren snart lanserer, digitalisering i offentlig sektor og kunstig intelligens, svært viktige. I en strategi for offentlige data oppfordrer jeg derfor til at fremskritt innen presisjonsmedisin tas med.

Da Kreftregisteret ble etablert på 50-tallet, forsto ingen den fulle nytteverdien av et slikt register. I dag tiltrekkes forskere og bedrifter fra hele verden for å få bruke data derfra.

Det viser hvorfor vi også i dag bør samle inn mer helsedata enn vi kan dra nytte av umiddelbart.

Hvordan finner vi balansen mellom god bruk av helsedata for å skape næring og rå utnyttelse av store firmaer? Her trenger vi en god strategi også for kunstig intelligens, som tar inn over seg denne balansegangen i helsedata.

Kunstig intelligens gjør presisjonsmedisin mulig på et helt annet nivå enn vi er på i dag, med mye høyere presisjon i behandlingen.

 

Ressurs for pasienter

For fremtidens presisjonsbehandling er helsedata ressursen vi må samle på. Vi må samle inn helsedata som gjør behandlingen bedre for neste pasient. Og vi trenger en struktur av dataene der både firmaer og myndigheter har tilgang til dem.

Jeg vil gjerne legge lista høyt og foreslå en felles database for data fra kliniske studier, hvor både firmaer og myndigheter har tilgang til helsedata umiddelbart etter at hver pasient har fått sin behandling.

Dette kan bidra til raskere tilgang til ny behandling og bedre oppfølging av pasienter med sykdommer som kreft.

Data former kreftbehandling og skaper nye tilbud til pasienter. Hvordan sikrer vi verdien av dataene? Skal vi gi dem bort for å bygge forskning og industri, skal vi ta så mye penger som vi kan for dem, eller skal vi prøve å finne på noe midt imellom?

I arbeidet med de nye strategiene bør våre mest intime data bli diskutert – med sikte på å skape verdi og næring av dem.

 

 

Short summary in English:

The question Astrup raised in his opinion piece concerned how data sharing can be improved across the public sector in Norway.

Widerberg responds by highlighting how we can make use of our health data to create added value and a successful health industry, without allowing large multinational corporations exploit the data freely.

Artificial intelligence makes precision medicine possible on a much higher level than today. We need to collect health data in order to improve treatments for future patients.

Widerberg therefore proposes a database where health data from all clinical trials is made available to both private and public bodies. This would contribute to making better treatments available sooner and provide better follow-up to patients suffering from diseases, such as cancer.

 

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Supporting cancer research with IP rights

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Two people working on computers.

Why are legal services an important part of Oslo Cancer Cluster? We asked Andrew Wright from Potter Clarkson to explain why they became a member.

 

Oslo Cancer Cluster helps to connect start ups and entrepreneurs in the cancer field to the legal service providers they need. There are many reasons why a law firm specialising in intellectual property (IP) rights is an important part of a cancer cluster. IP rights play an essential role in securing protection, and developing the value, in an idea or invention.

Andrew Wright, a partner in the law firm Potter Clarkson, member of Oslo Cancer Cluster.

Andrew Wright, a partner in the law firm Potter Clarkson, member of Oslo Cancer Cluster.

Andrew Wright, a partner in Potter Clarkson, explained why they became a member of Oslo Cancer Cluster:

“We have, for a long time, recognised the important developments in the field of oncology being pursued by members of the Oslo Cancer Cluster.

“This is an exciting time to be involved with Oslo Cancer Cluster, and Potter Clarkson thrives on opportunities to interact, and collaborate, with scientists and innovative companies that have ground-breaking ideas and an enterprising outlook.”

 

Why IP protection?

– To build value to attract investors and support ongoing development;

– To realise value in an invention by out-licencing to a commercial partner, in order to generate a funding stream; and/or

– To create exclusivity for the next stage of your commercial plans.

Source: Potter Clarkson

 

Supporting growth

A law firm with experts in IP rights can support innovators and entrepreneurs. They can provide guidance and assistance when seeking to obtain protection for new ideas, developments and inventions.

“Strong protection through relevant IP rights can be critical to the success of any start up or developing business. We believe that there is the potential for outstanding synergy between the needs of the members of Oslo Cancer Cluster and the support that Potter Clarkson offers.” Andrew Wright, Potter Clarkson

 

Building value

Early-stage companies in the cancer field often face great challenges when commercialising their products. Their ideas may only exist on a conceptual level or their products may be at a pre-clinical stage. It can take a company many years to bring a product to market, after developing their technologies and seeking the necessary approvals. It is critical that these companies can fund the ongoing development during this period.

“The decision of whether or not to invest, and the scale of any investment, will typically be based on how well the technologies that form the core of a company have been protected by suitable IP rights.” Andrew Wright, Potter Clarkson

 

Patent protected

Patents are often the main form of IP right. The objective of a patent application is typically to obtain protection for the general concept that underlies an invention, to provide a legally-enforceable right that can prevent competitors either from copying the invention itself, or from launching a closely-related equivalent based on the same concept.

Strong patent rights can provide companies with the ability to control the future commercialisation of their inventions. An owner of patent rights can also negotiate with other companies for licensed access to their invention, whether they want to commercialise it directly or develop it towards a collaborative product.

Entrepreneurs or start ups can apply for patents themselves through the European Patent Office, but it is often a complicated process. Therefore, it may be a good idea to get some advice from a patent professional.

 “Having patent protection, or the opportunity to obtain patent protection, provides strong and commercially-relevant coverage for the core technology of the company and being able to present a plan for generating and supporting future IP, can be key to the success of a Lifescience start up.” Andrew Wright, Potter Clarkson

 

Biotech meets law

All the patent professionals at Potter Clarkson hold degrees in scientific subjects, for example in biotechnology or pharmaceuticals. Their professionals often work across disciplines, which is good as Iinovations do not always fit ‘neatly’ into only a single field of technology.  For example, computer-implemented inventions are increasingly used in the field of therapies and diagnostics, and medical devices become ever more important in the delivery of therapies. In this case, the patent professional needs the experience to work across such inter-disciplinary fields.

“We pride ourselves on being technically knowledgeable, on having the ability to quickly immerse ourselves in your specialist area of science, to rapidly understand your invention, and to ask the right questions.” Andrew Wright, Potter Clarkson

 

For more information about the members of Oslo Cancer Cluster that offer legal services or advice on IP rights, please visit their official websites:

 

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