Macomics and IFOM (the AIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology) Announce Macrophage Scientific Collaboration

• Laboratory of Prof. Massimiliano Pagani at IFOM (the AIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology) and Macomics to bring together expertise on T-cell biology, ex-vivo tumoroids and macrophages
• The collaboration will combine advanced human ex vivo models with new therapeutic approaches to support Macomics’ continued exploration of novel macrophage biology

Edinburgh and Cambridge, UK, and Milan, Italy, 13 May 2023 - Macomics Ltd, a leader in macrophage drug discovery, announces that it has entered a scientific collaboration with Prof. Massimiliano Pagani from the IFOM (the AIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology) one of Italy’s leading research institutes in Cancer Research.

IFOM is focused on the study of cancer formation and development at the molecular level. Prof. Pagani’s laboratory is pioneering studies on Regulatory T cells in the tumour microenvironment. The collaboration will see Macomics work with Dr Francesca Simoncello in Prof. Pagani’s lab to synergize this deep knowledge, particularly in the use of ex vivo tumoroids and T cell biology, with Macomics’ macrophage expertise. The goal is to explore new modes of action for macrophage targeted therapies.

Macomics is exploiting the potential of macrophage-targeted approaches to develop first-in-class medicines to address disease of high unmet medical need. The company’s ENIGMAC macrophage drug discovery platform allows access to previously hidden disease specific macrophage targets: It integrates large volume human data sets, next generation human macrophage cell models, and proprietary macrophage genome editing capability to discover novel targets, unlock new disease biology, and de-risk clinical translation.

Under the collaboration the parties will explore together the potential for the use of ex vivo tumoroid models developed by the Pagani lab in the characterisation of macrophage targeted therapies, including testing of novel drug candidates with new modes of action discovered by Macomics in complex human assay systems.   

Dr Luca Cassetta, VP Immunology and Founder of Macomics said, “We are delighted to collaborate with one of the leading centres of excellence in the T-cell biology field. This collaboration will allow us to optimise the design our therapies by harnessing the power of patient-derived organoids which, unlike cell lines, recapitulate the overall architecture and functional features of the cancer tissue from which they originate. They also better replicate the complexity of the human tumour microenvironment than commonly used pre-clinical models. This understanding will accelerate the advancement of our programs towards clinical development.”

Prof. Massimiliano Pagani, Principal Investigator at IFOM and Professor of Molecular Biology at the University of Milan said, “A key goal for IFOM is the rapid transfer of scientific results from bench to bedside. This collaboration fits that goal, bringing together international experts across disciplines to accelerate the discovery new therapies that [have the potential to] improve the long-term outcome for cancer patients.”

Dr Stephen Myatt, CEO of Macomics said, “This is an important collaboration that brings together cutting-edge technology, complex assays, and novel therapeutic strategies to address the challenge and huge potential of macrophage drug discovery.  Macrophages are key to multiple diseases of high unmet medical need, including as key mediators of solid tumour immunosuppression and pathological inflammation in chronic inflammatory disorders, and we are advancing a number of programs in our pipeline towards clinical studies, to bring new therapies to cancer patients.”