Each Business Developer manages a group of Oncode Investigators and is the first point of contact for investigators and their associated research group. This enables proactive early identification of potential inventions from research discoveries and timely activation of suitable valorization channels. In addition to timely identification of potential inventions, appropriate intellectual property (IP) protection as well as technical validation are essential for effective valorization in early technology development. 

• The Oncode Intellectual Property (IP) Fund supports protection of IP generated by Oncode Researchers, through the filing of patent applications and prosecution and maintenance of the IP portfolio. This forms the basis for industry collaborations, licensing, and company creation. To ensure high quality patent applications and IP maintenance, the Valorization Team includes a European Patent attorney and an IP analyst.
• The Oncode Technology Development (TechDev) Fund aims to advance the development stage of Oncode Investigators’ inventions and reduce the risks during further development, thereby increasing the chance of partnering and industry uptake for further development toward clinical and/or market access. Supported activities include, for example, target validation, technical validation (e.g. on clinical samples), limited compound screening, initiation of medicinal chemistry, basic toxicological studies, regulatory advice, and early Health Technology Assessments. 

In 2023, Oncode Investigators submitted 27 new Invention Disclosures. This brought the total invention portfolio to 229 disclosures, of which 115 were in active development at year end. With 59 patent applications filed in 2023, of which 15 were priority applications, by year end the active IP portfolio comprised 58 active patent families of which 3 granted patents, with 28% of the active patent portfolio either licensed or optioned. In total, €477k TechDev funding was allocated to 3 new Technology Development projects. During the year, 12 projects were successfully completed and 1 terminated, leaving 15 projects active at year end. 

An illustrative example of the added value of the Technology Development Fund in accelerating the translation of a research discovery into a tangible application is that of Sturgeon – a ‘deep-learning algorithm capable of reading DNA sequences in real time based on an idea that originated in 2022 and was validated in a clinical setting in 2023.

In adults and children diagnosed with a tumor of the central nervous system (CNS; located in the brain or spine), surgery is usually the first treatment step. However, such surgery comes with a major challenge. Over 80 different CNS tumor subtypes exist, requiring different surgical strategies for optimal treatment outcome, varying from a very conservative approach to very aggressive tumor resection with increased risk of severe side effects. However, at the time of surgery the specific tumor type and its degree of aggressiveness are not known. Precise tumor characterization is eventually established using visual and molecular analysis of tumor tissue obtained during surgery and is not available until a week or more after treatment. There is therefore a high risk that the initial surgery was either more radical than needed, or it had been too conservative, requiring additional surgery.

To address this medical need, Oncode Investigator Jeroen de Ridder at the UMC Utrecht developed the ‘Sturgeon’ technology using his group’s Oncode Institute Base Funds. Sturgeon is a new ‘deep-learning algorithm’, a form of artificial intelligence. It operates on Nanopore sequencing data and allows the reading of DNA sequences in real time, thereby drastically reducing the time required for tumor characterization. As a result, tumor characterization becomes possible during the timeframe of the surgical procedure and results can be used by the surgeon to adapt surgical strategy immediately.

The Technology Development project ‘Sturgeon, cancer classification from sparse methylation data’ performed technical validation of the technology using patient samples to ensure accurate tumor characterization. For this, de Ridder joined forces with Bas Tops, head of the biobank at the Princess Máxima Center. Following successful validation and completion of the project, prospective validation was performed in continued collaboration with the Princess Máxima Center for pediatric CNS tumors and with Amsterdam UMC for adult CNS tumors. At both centers, the entire Sturgeon procedure was performed during actual surgeries: from obtaining tissue in the operating room to determining the tumor subtype in the laboratory taking only 60 to 90 minutes in total. As such, Sturgeon makes it possible to significantly speed up the identification of specific tumor subtypes, to guide a surgeon’s decision making process for tumor resection even during surgery. As a result, both unnecessarily aggressive resection, as well as too conservative initial surgery that requires additional surgery, can be avoided. Provided further clinical validation proves successful, this new technology has the potential to increase quality-of-life for patients with brain tumors. In addition, it could contribute to reduced healthcare costs by avoiding repeat surgery.

Read more about translation of science into practice in the interview with Jeroen de Ridder in section 2.3.6 below.

Collaboration, from fundamental research and discovery all the way to clinical development and implementation, is fundamental to Oncode Institute’s strategy. At all stages of innovation, finding the right partners – academic, clinical or commercial – is essential to efficiently translate research findings to tangible, validated products. Establishing partnerships and out-licensing technologies for further development is crucial to connect to the essential expertise, infrastructure, and financial means to enable development and translation of therapeutics or diagnostics all the way to the clinic.

In 2023, Oncode Institute’s Business Developers executed 174 research-related agreements, of which 127 involved an industry party. Agreements with industry represent a total contract value of €12,7M, which includes €4,2M in cash and €2,5M in-kind contributions from industry parties. In 2023, 20 new public-private collaborative research projects were started, including 8 projects funded under the Match Call for public-private collaborations of the Topconsortia voor Kennis en Innovatie of the topsector Life Sciences and Health (TKI-LSH). The strategic alliance with Cancer Research Horizons progressed with promising results, and Oncode Institute explored routes to further expand the alliance with Cancer Research Horizons as well as to establish new strategic partnerships with international key players in the oncology innovation space. In 2023, 10 license/option agreements were executed, resulting in 28% of the active patent portfolio being licensed or optioned.

Oncode Institute aims to connect fundamental and clinical research and drive efficient translation of promising research findings into novel treatment strategies and diagnostic methods. The Clinical Proof-of-Concept (CPoC) fund was established to support (pre-)clinical investigation of promising innovations derived from fundamental oncology research, in close collaboration with a clinical expert. The teams receive support from the Oncode Exploratory Development Expert Support (OEDES) team of external experts, with the aim to establish a research proposal and clinical protocol with optimal design to ensure effective future development towards clinical implementation. CPoC project proposals are reviewed by Oncode Institute’s Clinical Advisory Board (CAB), advising Oncode institute’s Management Board on decision for approval.

In 2023, one project application was approved and one that was conditionally approved in 2021 was cancelled because conditions for formally approved allocation of funds could not be met. In 2023, one previously approved application had completed all preparatory requirements to formally start project activities, and no projects were completed, resulting in 8 active CPoC projects at the year end.

Vulvar cancer is a malignancy that accounts for 10% of all gynecological cancers, with incidence rising among younger women. Treatment generally consists of surgery, including radical resection of the primary vulvar tumor, removal of lymph nodes, and sometimes also (chemo)radiotherapy. This current standard treatment is associated with severe and long-lasting impact on quality of life. Less radical treatment strategies are therefore urgently needed.

Research from the lab of Oncode Investigator Sjoerd van der Burg at LUMC and Gynecologic Oncologist Mariette van Poelgeest (LUMC), performed by Dr. Kim Kortekaas, suggests an important role for the immune system in a large group of vulvar cancer patients. The findings indicate that treatment with an immune checkpoint inhibitor – a PD-1 blocking antibody – may lead to reduced tumor load, consequently requiring less invasive surgery. Furthermore, this treatment could potentially also lead to reduced recurrence of disease or metastasis. The team led by van der Burg and Poelgeest was granted CPoC funding to further investigate the treatment in a first-in-human clinical trial. In this project titled ‘Mechanism of response and resistance to neoadjuvant PD-1 checkpoint blockade in vulvar squamous cell carcinoma’ they collaborate with Dr. Lena van Doorn (Erasmus MC) and Prof. Dr. Hans Nijman (UMCG). This study exemplifies how CPoC funding enables accelerated translation of a research discovery published in 2020 into clinical application. Clinical trials started in 2023, including the first patient. The research holds great promise for a patient group that is in dire need of new and less invasive treatment options.