Approximately 1,350 new cases of glioblastoma (GBM) are diagnosed per year in Spain. The standard treatment, consisting of radiotherapy and temozolomide, is very ineffective. Immunotherapy with antibodies against PD1/L1 or CTLA4 has also not yielded good results.
Photodynamic therapy is a promising approach to treat GBM, but currently there are no ligands that can effectively transport photosensitizers to GBM. In this project we use guide peptides identified by us to transport photosensitizers to selected populations of interest within GBM.
The objective is to generate immunogenic cell death, using conjugates of a specific peptide for the SNAP25 protein, a new therapeutic target that we have identified.
This is combined with the reversal of immunosuppression by reprogramming anti-inflammatory macrophages/microglia using Mactide-V. Our hypothesis is that by attacking GBM on these two fronts, a durable antitumor immunity will be activated.