NorskFoto: Elisabeth Kirkeng Andersen
Inven2 is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. On the occasion of this anniversary, we have interviewed some successful researchers who have all worked on groundbreaking innovations with significant benefits for society.
You can read more about Researcher Else Marit Inderberg in this interview. Her research within the area of immunotherapy has helped to establish Ultimovacs and Zelluna Immunotherapy, two companies that are developing treatments for cancer.
Name:
Else Marit Inderberg
Title:
Senior Researcher and Group Leader, Department of Cellular Therapy, the Norwegian Radium Hospital, Oslo University Hospital
What area of research are you in?
My area of research is immunotherapy for the treatment of cancer. I’ve been working on cancer vaccines in the form of peptides and dendritic cell vaccines for a long time, and together with my colleagues, Sébastien Wälchli, Gunnar Kvalheim and Gustav Gaudernack, have used these to develop T-cell therapy.
What is your most significant innovation?
My most significant innovation is CD4 TCR, which we hope to start using in the near future. This innovation in itself is not more significant than the cancer vaccine UV1, which we have also developed or the NK-TCR concept, but, for me personally, it’s the most significant one because it’s something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time.
CD-4 TCR can be linked to NK-TCR which we have also licensed. We have discussed the latest innovation previously. It has the potential to make cellular therapy available to more patients, as we don’t need to use the patients’ own cells to develop cellular therapy. Instead, we can provide a more universal product that can be prepared and stored until required.
What has cooperation with Inven2 meant for you?
The cooperation with Inven2 has made it possible to realise some of our innovations and ensure that they can be used. Without access to Inven2’s expertise and assistance, this would probably just have ended up in scientific publications and been difficult to further develop for patenting, clinical trials and financing of further development. The cooperation with Inven2 has afforded the opportunity to see whether or not these innovations work and are beneficial.
What would you like to say to Inven2 on the occasion of its tenth anniversary?
Thank you for great cooperation on various projects over the years, and thanks also for providing the opportunity to progress from early lab trials to clinical trials.
We hope that our cooperation continues with further opportunities to focus on projects in such a competitive field as this!
Read more here about Inderberg and what her research has contributed to:
- Information about Else Marit on the Oslo University Hospital website
- First in the world with unique immunotherapy: Information about Zelluna Immunotherapy, which builds on the licensing of the TCR-NK concept from Inderberg, et al.
- Developing groundbreaking cellular therapy by standing on the shoulders of giants: Article about much of the research that is currently being carried out by Inderberg and her colleagues
- Ultimovacs and the cancer vaccine, UV1, on the Søndagsrevyen TV programme on NRK TV in May 2019 (In Norwegian only)
- Norwegian researchers win award for a new type of cancer treatment: The VG newspaper article from 2014 about Inven2’s Ideas Prize, which was awarded that year to Inderberg and her colleagues Sébastien Wälchli, Gunnar Kvalheim and Gustav Gaudernack for the research behind Zelluna Immunotherapy (in Norwegian only)