The development of an innovative platform for preclinical screening of anti-cancer drug candidates is another joint project by the Jagiellonian University Medical College (UJ CM) and Selvita, which has been selected for funding under the European Funds for a Modern Economy (FENG) program. The principal investigator and project author on behalf of UJ CM is Professor Marcin Magierowski. The total value of the project exceeds PLN 17 million, with as much as PLN 6.5 million allocated to the module implemented at UJ CM.

On the UJ CM side, in addition to the team from the Center for Biomedicine and Interdisciplinary Sciences at the Faculty of Medicine led by Prof. Magierowski, the following individuals and units will be key contributors:

• Dr. Mateusz Wierdak (Department of General, Oncological and Metabolic Surgery, UJ CM and University Hospital in Krakow),
• The Glycomics Laboratory (Center for the Development of Therapies for Civilizational and Age-Related Diseases – CDT-CARD, UJ CM), led by Dr. Paweł Link-Lenczowski,
• The Proteomics Laboratory (CDT-CARD, UJ CM), led by Dr. hab. Maciej Suski, Prof. UJ.

„The starting point was an invitation I received two years ago from Dr. hab. Maciej Olszewski of Selvita SA, with whom I developed the substantive concept of the project. The professional involvement of the Selvita SA team and the administrative support of UJ CM were crucial during the demanding application phase. Now the most difficult part lies ahead for the research teams – implementation,” emphasized Prof. Magierowski.

The goal of the project is to develop an innovative platform for preclinical screening of anti-cancer drug candidates, based on a panel of clinically obtained tumors with diverse molecular profiles. The project is highly translational in nature – it envisions creating a kind of „laboratory-based patient cohort” with pancreatic or colorectal cancers, reflecting a broad and personalized spectrum of molecular parameters.

By combining these data with artificial intelligence tools that integrate large-scale information, the platform will enable faster and more accurate selection of innovative drug candidates, as well as earlier initiation of clinical trials. As a result, the project may significantly reduce the waiting time for oncology patients to access novel therapeutic approaches.

Thanks to this new collaboration, the total budget of ongoing research, implementation, and R&D projects at the UJ CM Center for Biomedicine and Interdisciplinary Research now exceeds PLN 16 million.

The project titled “Development of the DRUG-PREDICT technology for preclinical prediction of the clinical efficacy of biologically active compounds in colorectal and pancreatic cancer indications, based on translational in vitro and in vivo preclinical models supported by ML tools enabling the identification of the best innovative drug candidates and optimal patient groups” has received funding under the “SMART Path” competition (FENG.01.01-IP.01-003/24) organized by the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR).

This is one of the most prestigious and highly selective innovation support programs in Poland. A total of 400 applications were submitted, of which only 114 were qualified for the second stage – a demanding defense before experts – and only a few projects have been selected for funding so far.

https://cm-uj.krakow.pl/kolejny-wspolny-projekt-uj-cm-i-firmy-selvita/