project
Light the Fire
Immunotherapy against osteosarcoma (a highly aggressive bone cancer) and triple-negative breast cancer
details
patients affected (new diagnoses each year)
Osteosarcoma: worldwide ~ 35,000 Europe (EU-27) ~ 1,500
Triple-negative breast cancer: worldwide ~ 345,000 Europe (EU-27) ~ 56,000
Type of therapy
Immunotherapy
Support already allocated
700.000 €
Project start
2023
Situation
In the fight against cancer, immunotherapy, which helps the immune system combat the disease, delivers excellent results in some patients. But … only 25% of patients respond to immunotherapy, and only 10% are cured with no risk of relapse.
One of the problems comes from “cold” tumors, which fly under the immune system’s radar and cause immunotherapies to fail.
Potential solution
Our project leader is developing a therapy called ONCO-Boost that turns “cold” tumors into “hot” tumors, making them easier for the immune system to detect.
How?
By boosting the immune system, cold tumors become more visible and easier to target for immune cells, which can then attack and eliminate them.
Used in combination with other (immuno)therapies, it considerably increases their effectiveness against cancer.
Extremely promising results
17 à 100%
In preclinical tests on lymphomas, the complete cure rate rose from 17% to 100% with this molecule, compared with the best current immunotherapy.
0 à 57%
In tests on particularly aggressive colorectal cancer, the complete cure rate rose from 0% with the leading immunotherapy for solid cancers to 57% in combination with this molecule.
75%
Finally, in preclinical tests on osteosarcoma (a bone cancer) for which no effective treatment currently exists, the molecule used as a monotherapy achieved a complete cure rate of 78%.
In 2025, new positive results were obtained for triple-negative breast cancer.
To confirm these promising results, the next step is to move into clinical phases, which will allow the first patients to benefit from this promising molecule.
Against which cancers?
Initially, the development of this product as a monotherapy targets osteosarcoma (a highly aggressive bone cancer, particularly among 12 to 20 year olds) and triple-negative breast cancer.
In a second phase, this product will be combined with existing immunotherapies that are ineffective against “cold” tumors in order to restore their natural effectiveness, opening up broad indications such as colorectal or bladder cancer.
Competitive advantages
Major pharmaceutical companies have tried to develop similar products, but these must be injected directly into tumors, which are often hard to reach or widespread (metastasized).
The ONCO-Boost molecule, on the other hand, is soluble and has low toxicity, which allows it to be administered intravenously. With a better toxicity profile, it also has a better therapeutic index (minimum effective dose without side effects).
