The programme tackles a key challenge in cancer treatment: for many patients, immunotherapy does not work because their tumors are not easily recognized by the immune system, these are known as “cold tumors.”

SPARC aims to develop small, smart nanomedicines that can help “warm up” these tumors and make them visible to the immune system. If successful, this could allow immunotherapy to help many more patients. The project will also develop new technologies for precise drug delivery, animal-free testing, and efficient manufacturing.

Oncode Investigator Miao-Ping Chien contributes her expertise on integration of advanced imaging and single-cell sequencing . Her involvement ties directly to Oncode Institutes mission: turning scientific breakthroughs into better treatments for patients.

SPARC is led by Programme Leader Alina (A.Y.) Rwei from TU Delft and brings together a wide range of partners. This broad collaboration reflects the ambition of the project and the importance of combining expertise from different fields. Oncode Institute is a proud project partner and we are looking forward to work together to develop research finding in patients’benefit.

The NWO Perspectief programme supports projects that combine scientific excellence with clear benefits for society and the economy. SPARC is a strong example of what can happen when researchers, clinicians, and companies join forces to solve urgent challenges in healthcare.

Partners: : AZAR Innovations, Confocal.NL, Fluigent, hDMT, Holland PTC, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, LEMO, Lipoid, Membraflow, Merck KGaA, Oncode Institute, Polypure, Solstice Pharmaceuticals and academic partners: TU Delft, LUMC, Erasmus MC en University of Twente.