Cancer Immunotherapy

Cancer immunotherapy is the next generation of cancer therapeutics aiming to activate the body's own defense - the immune system - to seek and destroy cancer cells.

The immune system can recognize and fight cancer but cancer cells are shielded by the release of immunosuppressive substances and stroma, which reduce the normal immune attacks. Immunotherapy strengthens the immune system to regain capacity to destroy cancer cells. 

Lokon's Concept

The strategy of Lokon is to modulate the tumor microenvironment and simultaneously activate the immune system to attack the tumor using immunostimulatory gene therapy. 

We aim to shift the suppressive environment to a Th1 (immunity) promoting milieu by targeting the for example the CD40 pathway which affect stoma, tumor cells and the immune system. By gene vehicles such as the LOAd family of oncolytic viruses, immunostimulatory genes including our TMZ-CD40L, are inserted into the tumor area which cause a powerful inflammation leading to tumor cell destruction and activation of M1 macrophages, cytotoxic killer cells (CTLs) and NK cells.