The Massachusetts Life Science Center (MLSC) is proud to help accelerate the development of life-saving therapies by investing in the equipment and infrastructure needed to support cutting-edge research and collaboration across the Commonwealth.
At Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the Immunotherapy Platform for Antibody and CAR Therapeutics Discovery and Translation (IMPACT2) received nearly $2.8 million in funding in 2023 through the MLSC’s Research Infrastructure program. Co-principal investigators Eric Smith, MD, PhD, William Hahn, MD, PhD, and Xin Zhou, PhD, received the award to purchase state-of-the-art equipment including liquid handling systems and automation, protein quantitation and affinity measurement platforms, high-throughput flow cytometers, cell imaging and characterization equipment, and protein production and characterization platforms. Using these tools, the preclinical research center seeks to turn scientific discoveries into therapies for patients by developing, screening, and optimizing immunotherapy candidates.
Backed by an infrastructure grant from the MLSC and Dana-Farber, IMPACT2 has pushed forward advanced methods to design and test large libraries of immunotherapies, including antibodies, CAR T cells, and mRNA-encoded biologics. Their streamlined process begins with antibody discovery workflows which aim to screen a wide range of antibody candidates to find the most promising ones. From there, the team conducts more detailed screening workflows to engineer selected binders into libraries of immune effector therapies, functionally screen for promising drug candidates, and select the best option for further development.
Since receiving funding from the MLSC, IMPACT2 has supported more than 50 users across industry, including leading companies such as Strand Therapeutics, Enrich Biosystems, Cue Biopharma, and Sanofi, as well as academic partners to develop novel antibody-based therapies and screening strategies. Through these collaborations, the center has supported the development of dual-targeting CAR T cell therapy for gastric and pancreatic cancer, CAR T cell therapy for lung cancer, T-cell engager and CAR T-cell therapy against a novel target in renal cancer, dual-targeting CAR T-cell therapy and mRNA-encoded T-cell engagers for multiple myeloma, and antibody-based immunotherapy targeting a novel pan-cancer immune checkpoint.
By combining shared expertise, rigorous screening, and collaborative design, IMPACT2 aims to accelerate the path from discovery to clinical translation for next-generation cancer immunotherapies. The impact of this investment continues to grow, contributing to $36 million in follow-on grant funding for the development of novel therapies, new intellectual property generation, and scientific publications, further strengthening Massachusetts’s leadership in life sciences innovation.
Learn more about the readily accessible MLSC-funded equipment resources located through the Commonwealth: https://www.masslifesciences.com/mlsc-red/
