Written by: Samantha Everton, Innovation & Research Communications Contributor

As aggressive brain and spine cancers pose serious threats to patients’ lives, researchers are hastening efforts to find effective and reliable alternative treatments to radiation and chemotherapy. University of Utah startup CaLycia Bioscience is working to engineer immune cells from a patient’s body to fight and kill cancer cells, effectively treating the cancer from within.

A Deadly Threat to Patients’ Lives

The Mayo Clinic describes glioblastoma multiforme as an aggressive, rapidly growing form of brain cancer that starts as a growth of cells in the brain or spinal cord. Tumors grow and infiltrate the brain with fingerlike tendrils, making complete surgical removal virtually impossible. Patients diagnosed with glioblastoma suffer from headaches, nausea, memory loss, balance issues, vision changes, speech difficulties, and seizures. This particular form of cancer, according to the American Brain Tumor Association, has devastating survival rates. The 5-year survival rate for patients diagnosed with glioblastoma is under 30% for adolescents and adults under 40, and under 6% for adults over the age of 40, making the search for new and effective treatments all the more urgent.

A New and Novel Treatment

Currently, glioblastoma is treated with surgical removal of the tumor, followed by radiation and chemotherapy. Because complete removal of the tumor is difficult, however, there are always residual cells left behind that tend to regrow the tumor. In the past, immune cells called T-cells have been engineered with chimeric antigen receptors (CAR), which enable the new CAR-T cells to identify and kill cancer cells when they are returned to the patient. And while these cells work well in fighting blood cancers, they are incompatible with solid tumors like glioblastoma.

Researchers here at the U are innovating to apply this principle to a different kind of immune cell, the macrophage. These cells are ideal candidates for engineering because they can travel into solid tumors, traffic all over the body, and eat and kill their targets. “Macrophages play a really interesting role in the immune system where they can educate the rest of the immune system,” CaLycia Bioscience co-founder Minna Roh-Johnson explained, “There’s this ripple effect of direct eating, educating the other immune cells. Macrophages can get into the tumor, and we think that will prove to be very advantageous.” Ideally, these macrophages will be taken from a cancer patient via blood draw, engineered to target the residual glioblastoma cells post-surgery, destroying them and teaching the rest of the immune cells to follow suit.

The Bridge from University to Business

The team at CaLycia Bioscience has been researching macrophage engineering for years now. It started in Associate Professor of Biochemistry Minna Roh-Johnson’s lab, where she began working with Daniel Greiner, now the president of CaLycia Bioscience, on his PhD. Their research continued through Greiner’s PhD, which finished last year, and while they were both excited and passionate about their research, they didn’t know if they had the resources to support a continued study. The co-founders were left at a crossroads: they could move on to different projects, or they could take their research out of the lab and into a commercial space. “We were kind of in a tough spot,” Roh-Johnson shared, “which I think a lot of people are, where you need to get the sort of money to be able to do the experiments, but you’re not ready for prime-time normal sources of funding.” The team made the decision to continue their work, but they were cautious about making the transition from academia to business. Greiner explained, “There’s a million ways startups fail, and most of them don’t actually involve the science.” With their concerns and questions in mind, the co-founders turned to the university for support.

Engagement with University Resources

CaLycia Bioscience’s first step in seeking funding was applying for the Ascender Grant, a university grant meant to bridge the gap between academic research and commercialization. This grant allowed them to reach several important milestones in their research, paving the way to receive more funding. Then the team applied for the Launchpad Seed Fund, developed by the Utah Venture Hub to support early business development work. This funding allowed Roh-Johnson and Greiner to continue their work and further support their company. One form of that support came through the Doman Innovation Studio in the David Eccles School of Business. In starting a business, Greiner mentioned that “you don’t know what you don’t know,” and that the Doman Innovation Studio proved to be of immense help, providing advice, counselling, and resources to help the co-founders navigate the ins and outs of translating their research to a business setting. “CaLycia Bioscience is a prime example of a startup taking advantages of the resources the university has cultivated for this purpose,” Jim Hotaling, AVPR for Research & Translation, shared, “It’s amazing to see a company go through the full pipeline of funding we have here to translate their academic research into a high-potential business.”

Recent Funding

CaLycia Bioscience closed their most recent funding round led by University of Utah Ventures and Cumming Capital Management, successfully utilizing the hub for cross-campus collaboration and participating in the ecosystem of entrepreneurship fostered by the university. This next round of funding will allow the team to expand, hire additional technicians, and begin preclinical experiments, working toward their novel, innovative treatment for this aggressive and deadly form of brain cancer.

“CaLycia is a standout example of the University of Utah’s world-class scientific talent translating breakthrough research into life-saving therapies. University of Utah Ventures’ investment in Calycia reflects our commitment to supporting high-impact, innovative technologies led by exceptional teams”. – Jack Boren, Managing Partner, University of Utah Ventures

“The Cumming Foundation is pleased to announce its investment in CaLycia Bioscience to support the company’s groundbreaking macrophage research aimed at developing innovative cancer treatments. The foundation is inspired by CaLycia’s scientific vision, confident in the dedication of its research team, and hopeful that this partnership will contribute meaningfully to the fight against cancer.” -Matt Ireland, Managing Director, Cumming Capital Management  

Learn More about Calycia Bioscience

Learn more about University of Utah Ventures

Note: This story originally appeared on the TLO website.