We are exploring direct cell reprogramming as a strategy to force cancer cells to become immunogenic again.
We want to merge cell reprogramming and cancer immunotherapy fields.
We are committed to the challenge of making cancer immunotherapies available for every patient.
We aim to use our direct reprogramming discoveries to contribute to create a positive impact in patients life.
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was fought between the Greeks and Trojans. After 10 years of conflict, the Greeks implemented a strategy based on a hollow wooden horse, the Trojan horse, to enter Troy and win the war from within. According to Norse myths, while the city of Troy was completely devastated, thousands of Trojans left immediately after the war and moved north across Europe. When they arrived to the Baltic Sea in Scandinavia, they built Asgard, a fortified city resembling Troy and described as “Troy in the north”, the city of Gods.
In 2015, researchers at the University of Coimbra, Portugal, started working on a direct cell reprogramming approach to set in motion immune responses based on the unique properties of Dendritic Cells. While reprogramming approaches had been mainly restricted to regenerative medicine, this conceptual shift opens exciting opportunities to merge the fields of cell reprogramming and cancer immunotherapy.
In 2017, the same team of scientists, just like the Trojans, crossed Europe and moved to Lund University where they established Asgard Therapeutics AB to explore and develop the TrojanDC concept and its applications in cancer immunotherapy.
Lund Stem Cell Center and Wallenberg Center and Wallenberg Center for Molecular Medicine at Lund University.
The aim of this grant is to bridge the gap between basic research and innovation/utilization of research result among the projects belonging to StemTherapy unit at Faculty of Medicine, Lund University. Asgard received financial support to complete TrojanDC proof-of-concept studies.
