CTGCT Newsletter, 1st year in review

Welcome to the first CTGCT Newsletter featuring a selection of the articles we’re most proud of in the last year. The project started in September 2023, and as of September 2024, we are a new infrastructure center at the National Chemistry Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia.

We would also like to tell you that our team grew to 7 in this period, and that we organized our first yearly CTGCT Conference, with which we sent a strong message throughout our translational medicine ecosystem about collaboration. We applied to two funding calls, submitted one translational science article, opened our LinkedIn and X-Twitter, and grew them to 500 followers. We opened doors to our two most important external audiences—the doctors and patients—and we’re happy to report that both seeds are sprouting.

Still a long way to go, but our translational efforts will not be possible without great relationships and trust among many different actors. Before wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, we’d like to invite you to join us, be it as partners, co-workers, listeners, or readers—you are all welcome. We at the CTGCT team are looking forward to another great year of growth and learning.


CTGCT Conference 2024

This October, we hosted our inaugural CTGCT Conference from the 16th to 18th, combining a partners’ conference with an open conference. The three-day event began with two days of presentations from CTGCT members and colleagues from advanced partner institutions sharing their work and research. On the final day, we welcomed clinicians, patients, and researchers to discuss ongoing research and highlight the importance of Slovenia’s biotech ecosystem in translational medicine. Read more in this link. Mark your calendars—the CTGCT Conference 2025 will be held from September 17th to 19th.

Panel discussion about ATMPs

On May 29, our inaugural Panel Discussion titled “ATMP Regulation” highlighted Slovenia’s strong ecosystem potential and the need for collaborative partnerships. The discussion produced key insights about clear regulation, training, and knowledge exchange in moving research from lab to clinical practice. Participants explored the growing resources available and the increasingly rigorous regulatory requirements in the translational pathway. The event brought together distinguished panelists from national and international institutions, including top Slovenian experts, researchers, biotech companies, industry representatives, and patients. You can read more in this link, where you’ll find photos and a recording of the event.

Other events we participated

April. 50th Annual Meeting of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation

April. Economist Impact Cell and Gene Therapy Summit

June. CTNNB1 Conference – One Year to Cur

June. ADVANCE Workshop in June 2024

September. European Commission Hosts Sixth Regional HTA Event in Budapest

October. 3rd Teaming Club Conference – Novi Sad


News and Relationship with the ecosystem

UCL ATMP Pipeline

UCL, an Advanced partner of the CTGCT, published this year an excellent brochure (link) through their Translational Research Office. The brochure demonstrates the impressive scope of their ATMP pipeline, which includes approximately 100 projects—mostly in early preclinical stages. These projects rely on public funding for initial development and commercial funding for later phases. Drawing inspiration from UCL’s approach, CTGCT seeks to enhance its translational capabilities, establish sustainable funding sources, and foster partnerships. This will help advance our portfolio of gene and cell therapies from preclinical research to clinical application, with the ultimate goal of delivering innovative treatments for cancer and rare diseases. Read more in this link.

DARE-NL: Advancing Cancer Therapies

DARE-NL brings together academic developers of ATMPs in the Netherlands to streamline clinical testing and speed up access to innovative cancer treatments. Through centralized expertise, standardized protocols, and advanced technologies, DARE-NL is paving the way for potential cures. They also offer an excellent course directory featuring a broad selection of courses from leading organizations in the field—many available for free.

ERN Ithaca visit

On September 19, 2024, we hosted Anne Hugon (ERN ITHACA) and Erika Stariha (SATB2 Europe) for discussions on advancing rare disease therapies. During the visit, CTGCT presented its mission of transforming innovative research into life-changing treatments and outlined its expansion and collaboration plans. The meeting focused on three key areas: engaging clinicians, bringing together patient organizations, and utilizing networks like ERN ITHACA to enhance diagnostics and care for rare conditions. This partnership reinforces CTGCT’s dedication to developing groundbreaking therapies and improving patient outcomes. Read more in this link.


Open Research Results

Graphical Abstract Sonogenetics
Graphical abstract for the paper on sonogenetics

 

In 2024, our researchers published 7 papers, all of which are open access to maximize the reach of our scientific findings. To make this research more accessible, we wrote explanatory articles about two key studies. Here is a link to the article about sonogenetics and in this other link the article about MyD88 and its role in cell homeostasis.

List of published papers during 2024 in no particular order:

  1. Mucoadhesive film for oral delivery of vaccines for protection of the respiratory tract (Esih, H. et al. Journal of Controlled Release, 371, 179–192)
  1. Protein Gas Vesicles of Bacillus megaterium as Enhancers of Ultrasound-Induced Transcriptional Regulation (Jazbec, V. et al. ACS Nano, 18(26), 16692–16700)
  1. The art of designed coiled-coils for the regulation of mammalian cells. (Plaper, T. et al. In Cell Chemical Biology Vol. 31, Issue 8, pp. 1460–1472)
  1. Ultrasound-mediated spatial and temporal control of engineered cells in vivo (Ivanovski, F. Nature Communications, 15(1), 7369)
  1. Coupling of Spectrin Repeat Modules for the Assembly of Nanorods and Presentation of Protein Domains. (Mezgec, K. et al. ACS Nano 2024, 18, 28748-28763)
  1. Designed allosteric protein logic (Plaper, T. et al. Cell Discovery, 2024 10:8)
  1. MyD88 protein destabilization mitigates NF-κB-dependent protection against macrophage apoptosis (Lainšček, D. et al. Cell Communication and Signaling, 22(1), 549)

We also submitted an Innovation Report. It has been accepted in the
Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal and you can read the pre-proof
version already in this link.

Our next project, GeneH

The CTGCT is partnering with GeneT, a Center of Excellence project at the University of Coimbra, to establish GeneH—an Excellence Hub in Gene Therapy. This hub will focus on advancing research and innovation to tackle current challenges in developing effective clinical treatments. Through collaboration between the University of Coimbra and the Kemijski Institut, GeneH will create an environment that bridges national borders and strengthens Europe’s role in global gene therapy.

We are currently awaiting the results of two funding applications submitted this year to support the center’s continued progress.


Job Openings

1732787467600
Image created with Dall-e AI

As the project progress, so will do the team that is part of the CTGCT. During 2025 we plan to hire people with a background in chemistry and/or biology and experience with cell therapies and virus preparation. If you or any of your friends would be interested in helping the CTGCT in its mission to translate research into therapies for cancers and rare diseases, keep and eye on our website or feel free to send your curriculum at ctgct@ki.si.


Follow us on

LinkedIn

X-Twitter

Funding Banner

Project: 101059842 – CTGCT – HORIZON-WIDERA-2022

Co-funded by the European Union, this project has received funding from Horizon Europe (grant agreement No. 101059842) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK government’s Horizon Europe funding guarantee (grant number 10069462). Views and opinions expressed are of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Commission nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them