SHANGHAI and NANJING, China and SAN JOSE, Calif., Sept. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- On September 23, in Rio de Janeiro, on the eve of the International Myeloma Society (IMS) Annual Meeting, Dr. Yongke Zhang, Chief Scientific Officer of IASO Biotherapeutics (IASO Bio), along with leading Chinese onco-hematology physicians, including Professor Lugui Qiu from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Hematology Hospital and Professor Jie Jin from the Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, visited the Hematology Center at the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) in Brazil. The two parties engaged in in-depth discussions and explored potential collaboration opportunities in the development of innovative therapies for cancer patients.
During their meeting at the Hematology Center at Unicamp, the Brazilian team presented their progress in improving access to innovative cancer treatments, particularly the Theranostic model actively developed by CEPID CancerThera (the organizer of the visit), and CAR-T cell therapy, developed by the Center for Advanced Therapies (Nutera) in Ribeirão Preto (SP). The Chinese delegation expressed strong interest in Brazil's advancements in these areas, especially in the treatment of hematological malignancies.
In turn, the Chinese delegation provided insights into the therapeutic advantages of CAR-T cell therapy which utilizes the patient's own immune cells to target and treat hematological malignancies, offering benefits to those patients failed to 1-3 lines of proteinase inhibitor, immunomodulator and anti-CD38 mab.
After the meeting, the delegation toured the lymphocyte collection unit, which is essential for developing CAR-T cell therapies. They also visited the Nuclear Medicine Service of the Unicamp Hospital de Clínicas where they viewedthe well-equipped facilities for patients recovering from bone marrow transplants.The visit paved the way for potential collaborations, with the Chinese researchers underscoring the significance of future partnerships in biotechnology, healthcare, and research institutes.
From left to right: in the foreground, Claudia Wu (Shamano Group), Camen S. P. Lima (CancerThera), Jie Jin (Zheijang University), and Hao Mu (Hospital of the Institute of Hematology and Blood Disorders); on the medium level, Lugui Qiu (Peking Union Medical School), Wang Wei (Shamano Group), Francisco Pessine (Institute of Chemistry/Unicamp); in the third plan, Carmino A. de Souza (CancerThera), Celso D. Ramos (CancerThera), Yongke Zhang (IASO BioTherapeutics), Li Li Min (Faculty of Medical Sciences/Unicamp), Maria Carolina S. Mendes (CancerThera), Bruno D. Benites (Hemocentro/Unicamp) and Elvira Correa (CancerThera). (Source of photo: Official website of CEPID CancerThera)
"Their primary interest in visiting us was to understand our involvement in the CAR-T therapy, especially since half of the delegation consisted of hematologists," said Dr. Carmino Antonio de Souza, an onco-hematologist, professor at Unicamp's Faculty of Medical Sciences, and lead researcher at CEPID CancerThera.
"We truly value our relationship with Brazil. We have a long history of collaboration in various fields. Now, we are focused on bringing products here and introducing this new CAR-T therapy so that more patients can have access to it. That's our mission," said Dr. Yongke Zhang, Chief Scientific Officer of IASO Bio Therapeutics.
IASO Bio dedicated to making curable and accessible CAR-T therapies available to patients in China and worldwide. The company is actively exploring innovative collaboration models with partners across research, technology, clinical, and commercialization sectors worldwide to accelerate the wider clinical application of innovative therapies such as CAR-T.