{"id":3988,"date":"2023-06-24T11:59:35","date_gmt":"2023-06-24T11:59:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovationisrael.org.il\/en\/?post_type=report&p=3420"},"modified":"2023-11-27T06:21:07","modified_gmt":"2023-11-27T06:21:07","slug":"can-cancer-be-beaten","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/innovationisrael.org.il\/en\/article\/can-cancer-be-beaten\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Cancer be Beaten?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nano-ghost<\/strong>, developed by Prof. Marcel Machluf<\/strong>, is an innovative technology that enables the focused internal delivery and release of anti-cancer drugs. This innovative delivery system is aimed at preventing side effects of chemotherapy and at dramatically enhancing the treatment’s efficacy. The Nano-ghost system got its name from its modus operandi that includes emptying stem cells of their content, reducing them in the laboratory to nanometric size, transforming them into types of engineered delivery nano-systems (nano-ghosts), and loading them with different medicines. During the treatment, the patient is injected with these nano delivery systems loaded with the relevant medicines that make their way, via the blood vessels, to a specific tumor to release their important load.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prof. Machluf is the dean of the Biotechnology & Food Engineering Faculty at the Technion<\/strong> and a world-renowned researcher in the fields of medicine delivery, gene therapy, cell therapy, and tissue engineering. “Stem cells know how to assign themselves to other types of cells and protect the body’s immune system”, she explains. “These cells treat infections and when there is no infection, the immune system ‘relaxes’ and is less focused on attacking the tumor”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to understand the interaction that develops between stem cells and the cells in the area of the cancerous tumor and the reason they remain there, Prof. Machluf and her team decided to investigate the nature of the human body, to transform the stem cells into “nanometric ghost cells” and to send them on their way, reduced in size, emptied of original content, and loaded with medication. The study they conducted revealed that at first the ghost cells wandered about the bloodstream but, upon sensing the cancer cells’ signals, rushed within hours to the area under examination and went to work on the cancerous tumor with the medication they carried. “The nano-ghost cells acted as a ‘trojan horse'”, she explained, “and the cancerous cells, which thought that they were coming to their aid, let them in. The findings and the strong effect of the drugs were surprisingly good \u2013 the cancerous tumor shrunk after just a single injection of the nano-ghost”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even Empty Nano-Ghost Cells Have an Effect <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After conducting many experiments, the Nano-ghost team realized that the solution was a biological one, rather than chemical or synthetic. “In a biological system like ours, there is no need to assemble the molecule. We engineer the cell while it is still alive, before we turn it into a ghost, in a way that allows it to express the desired characteristics of the membrane. This is a tremendous advantage over other systems in which the specific molecule needs to be isolated and assembled with the right orientation. Nevertheless, choosing a biological solution also has a significant disadvantage \u2013 the cell production method is relatively limited, and it always takes a long time to analyze and characterize the medication. On an overall industry level, Nano-ghost’s delivery system won’t suit every type of medication because we cannot encompass and experiment with them all, but the delivery of those medicines that we do adapt will have a significant impact for the patients”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The results of Nano-ghost’s experiments are positive and encouraging, and the delivery system has already been shown to be efficient against different types of cancers: “So far, we have worked only with animals but now need to find methods that are better suited for humans”, she says. “Furthermore, we also need to find a way to increase the system’s production capabilities, to characterize the nano-ghosts, and to meet the criteria required by the regulatory entities so that we can use the material and inject it into humans”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lab team discovered that the ghost cells influence not only different kinds of cancer tumors but also other conditions. According to Prof. Machluf, “For example, when the cells are returned empty to the body, without medicines, they influence inflammatory systems that are created due to the appearance of cancer. The lab experiments have generated a lot of information and the company needs to focus on the desired pharmaceutical direction and on proving the system’s feasibility \u2013 on whether to choose a drug that has been entirely unsuccessful, a successful drug with side effects that we can improve, or on a cancerous tumor for which no treatment exists. We are also looking for a solution for the Corona virus. The goal here is to transform our ghost cells into a trap for the virus. We intend to express the BCE2 receptor as a virus on the membrane’s surface and only then to turn it into a ghost”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clinical Trials Within Three Years<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Nano-Ghost was officially founded in November 2019 following a complex phase of recruiting investors, but the process actually started three years previously. The professional team of employees emphasize the advantages of Bio-convergence: each comes from a different field on the engineering spectrum \u2013 biological, chemical, and physical. “Our vision is to commence clinical trials within 3 years and to start raising the necessary capital. We have accumulated a great deal of knowledge in using this system and we are currently focusing on the first stage of being able to conduct clinical trials that will prove that the system itself is not harmful or problematic”, Prof. Machluf summarizes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n