Cross-border collaborations to improve cancer treatment

• Cancer
• Precision Health
• Department of Cancer Research

LIH-IBBL and South Korean biotech MBD establish joint laboratory  

On December 9th, Medical & Bio Decision (MBD) announced the setup of a joint laboratory for precision medicine tailored to cancer patients, in collaboration with the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH) and the Integrated Biobank of Luxembourg (IBBL).

The joint MBD-LIH lab, which was set up at the premises of IBBL in Dudelange, Luxembourg, will focus on performing translational oncology research. Specifically, the lab will test the sensitivity, efficacy and toxicity of anticancer drugs leveraging MDB’s proprietary 3D cell culture platform technology. 

The 3D cell culture chip developed by MBD is a technology that allows the identification the most effective anticancer drug using cancer cells derived directly from patients. This innovative three-dimensional solution overcomes some of the issues associated with 2D cultures by providing a more accurate and physiologically relevant tissue model, thereby enabling a more precise prediction of a drug’s efficacy and toxicity profile and supporting next-generation drug screening and development. 

The lab will use samples from cancer patients across Europe and will leverage IBBL’s state-of-the-art biological sample storage facilities. 

“By joining forces with MBD and combining our expertise in translational oncology research with the company’s innovative drug testing technology, our goal is to assist physicians in assessing the response of each cancer patient to a specific drug or radiotherapy, thereby resulting in the selection of the most efficacious treatment option based on the patient’s unique genetic profile. In other words, our collaboration will advance precision oncology for the benefit of patients in Luxembourg, Europe and worldwide”, explains Dr Yong-Jun Kwon, Head of the Early Drug Discovery Platform of the Personalized Drug Discovery research group at the LIH Department of Oncology (DONC).

The joint lab holds the potential to advance the treatment of various types of cancers, including Glioblastoma, gastric and colorectal cancers.

MBD committed approximately EUR 200,000 to set up the lab and fund its research activities. The company plans to complete the setup of the equipment related to the installation of the joint laboratory in December 2020. Full-scale clinical trials already started in September 2020.