Dr. Marian Vanhoeij, Head of the Breast Clinic of the University Hospital, UZ Brussel and principal investigator of this investigator-initiated study: “We are pleased to contribute to the further clinical development of the TriMix-platform, which has been developed at our university and is now the backbone of eTheRNA immunotherapies, a spin-off from the VUB university. While the proof of concept for the TriMix platform has been delivered in multiple studies involving melanoma patients, we are convinced of the potential for TriMix in other therapeutic areas including breast cancer. In the TriMix-BRE study, a total of 36 breast cancer patients will be enrolled at the Brussels university hospital (UZ Brussel). The TriMix product will be administered 3 times in the tumor of the patients before surgical removal or before start of neo-adjuvant chemotherapy.”
Bertil Lindmark, CMO of eTheRNA immunotherapies, commented: “This is the first study in which a TriMix therapy for intratumor administration is studied in breast cancer. The proof of concept for our TriMix mRNA platform was established via a dendritic cell infusion approach, where cells are extracted from the patient and then loaded with immunogenic mRNA, after which they are returned into the body. In this study, TriMix is administered in the tumor of breast cancer patients before surgery to determine whether we can elicit a local immune response against the tumor.”