Objective

To address key logistic and scientific bottlenecks for the clinical implementation of advanced cell- and gene therapy against cancer. 

The ambition to develop next-generation cell-based immunotherapy builds on four decades of discoveries in the field of immunotherapy research at the Oslo University Hospital. In StratCell, we have brought together leading national academic-, start-up/ SME/biotech and pharma industry-, and public sector- (healthcare-) participants to jointly, in a collaborative approach (i) develop, (ii) produce, and (iii) implement next-generation cell-based immunotherapies for treatment of human cancer. In this field of cancer immunotherapy, Norway has frontline academic competence, a strong SME sector and a multitude of international SME/industry interactions, as well as a robust well-prepared health care system to implement these much-needed new cell-based therapies. What we propose to develop here is a precision medicine-like strategy to specifically direct immune cells to their cancer targets. 

Main tasks:

• Establishment of a pre-GMP unit to serve as a dynamic hub between innovative experimental approaches and clinical implementation of armed biological cell therapy drugs
• Facilitate work at the interface between academia and industry and support a clinical pipe-line of investigator-initiated trials.
• Foster the training of the next generation physician-scientist to lead the clinical trial program within the Strategic Research Area