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Vienna, Austria – October 26, 2023 – The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded a prestigious Advanced Grant to Professor Christoph Bock, a leading figure in genomic medicine, to spearhead the development of a new class of “living drugs” capable of combating solid tumors. This grant fuels a high-stakes project that merges cutting-edge CRISPR genetic screening with artificial intelligence to engineer smarter, more potent CAR T cells, aiming to crack one of oncology’s toughest challenges.
For years, CAR T cell therapy has been a revolutionary but limited weapon in the cancer arsenal. While it has produced remarkable remissions for certain blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma, its effectiveness against common solid tumors—such as those in the lung, breast, and colon—has been minimal. These cancers account for the vast majority of cancer deaths globally, creating an urgent need for innovation. The core problem lies in the tumor’s defenses: a suppressive microenvironment that disables immune cells and a lack of unique surface markers that leads to dangerous attacks on healthy tissue.
Christoph Bock’s laboratory at the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine is tackling these dual barriers head-on. The newly funded initiative, dubbed Solid-CART, represents a convergence of Bock’s prior groundbreaking work. His team previously developed CROP-seq, a method that combines CRISPR gene editing with single-cell RNA sequencing to map genetic functions with incredible detail. They also created AI platforms like CellWhisperer to decipher complex biological data. Now, these tools are being directed toward a singular, ambitious goal: creating CAR T cells that can survive, infiltrate, and precisely destroy solid tumors.
The project’s strategy is two-pronged. First, researchers will use high-throughput CRISPR screens in sophisticated mouse models with intact immune systems. This allows them to systematically hunt for genes that can supercharge CAR T cells, making them more resilient to the hostile conditions within a tumor. Second, and perhaps more innovatively, the team will employ AI to design synthetic genetic “circuits” for the T cells. Think of it as a biological two-factor authentication system. These circuits would require the CAR T cell to detect multiple specific signals present only on the tumor before it becomes activated to kill, drastically reducing the risk of off-target toxicity.
A key focus will be HER2-positive cancers, a subtype found in breast, gastric, and other solid tumors. While HER2 is a known target, existing therapies, including earlier CAR T attempts, have been hampered because the protein is also expressed at low levels on some healthy cells, leading to severe side effects. Solid-CART aims to design CAR T cells with the discrimination to attack only cancer cells with high HER2 expression while sparing normal tissue, a critical step for clinical safety.
Exclusive Perspective: The U.S. Immunotherapy Landscape This European-led research arrives at a pivotal moment for the American oncology community. While the U.S. is a leader in commercial CAR T therapies for blood cancers, the translation to solid tumors has been slower than hoped. Several domestic biotech firms are exploring similar concepts of “logic-gated” or “armored” CAR T cells. Bock’s approach, backed by the ERC’s “high-risk, high-reward” funding philosophy, provides a robust, academically-driven blueprint that could accelerate the entire field. Its open, foundational science on gene circuits and microenvironment resistance may offer valuable insights for U.S.-based translational researchers and companies aiming to bring the next generation of living drugs to patients.
The translational path is already being charted. The project benefits from a direct collaboration with Professor Antonia Müller, a cell therapy expert at the Medical University of Vienna, ensuring the research is grounded in clinical reality from the start. The goal is not just laboratory success but to move the most promising engineered CAR T constructs into human clinical trials, bridging the notorious gap between bench and bedside.
Securing an ERC Advanced Grant is a rare feat, reserved for visionary projects that could transform a field. For Bock, this follows a perfect grant trajectory—Starting, Consolidator, and now Advanced—a testament to the consistent groundbreaking impact of his work. The funding provides the resources and long-term stability to pursue this complex, multidisciplinary challenge, combining immunology, genomics, synthetic biology, and computational science.
For patients facing diagnoses of lung, breast, or colon cancer, the promise of effective cellular therapy has long felt distant. Projects like Solid-CART are building the scientific framework to make it a tangible reality. By teaching the body’s own immune cells to be smarter, stronger, and more precise, researchers are inching closer to a future where “living drugs” can take on cancer in all its forms.
