Making modern drugs even more effective and safe

Modern cancer drugs are precision tools that can specifically interfere with the molecular processes of a cancer cell. However, minimal changes in their complex molecular structure, which may occur during manufacturing or storage, make them ineffective or even dangerous for patients. An Innovative Training Network (ITN) research project funded by the EU with four million euros aims to develop better ways to clean so-called therapeutic proteins in the coming years, while at the same time developing the experts urgently needed for this work.

Under the title "Analytics for Biologics" (A4B), chemists from 17 institutions (eleven project partners plus six associated partners) will develop new methods for the purification of therapeutic proteins in Denmark, Austria, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Great Britain and Germany. Amongst these is Prof. dr. Rainer Bischoff from the Analytical Biochemistry group of the Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy. The consortium will develop specific mass spectrometric methods for their detection and quantification and new purification protocols. Two PhD students will be appointed in Bischoff’s research group.