About

ImmunoRec is the offspring of a 10-year laboratory work and focuses on the application of the Personalized Implantable Vaccine technology. Such technology takes advantage of nature towards personalized ex vivo immunotherapy and immunoprotection. The first goal concerns individual cancer patients with solid tumors and establishement of medical Ex Vivo Immunization Centers (EVIC). The application of the universally novel technology ensures personalized treatment, no side effects, no need to stop other treatments, fast results and specific re-application if metastasis. The technology expands to anti-microbial vaccination and immune regulatory therapy. The establishment of EVICs opens a new market in health. Marketing the "know how" of the new technology opens many opportunities in business development.

Solution & Product

ImmunoRec orchestrates the application of Personalized Implantable Vaccine technology entering phase I clinical trials towards the first goal of cancer immunotherapy with active substance autologous macrophages, pre-activated against autologous tumor antigens, absorbed on a silicon surface. The product has been classified as “combined-Advanced Therapy Medicinal Product” (c-ATMP) and complies with the corresponding “Good Manufacturing Practice” (GMP) legislation. ImmunoRec is contracting with a Laser Laboratory, a Diagnostic Laboratory, a Tissue Laboratory and a General Clinic in order to get the product to the patient.

Innovation & Scalability

The technology promoted by ImmunoRec focuses on human health and its slogan is "You can heal yourself". It is based on a silicon (SiO2, raw form of glass) implant specially treated with ultra-fast laser, which carries the individual's peripheral blood cells and which are activated outside the body either with non-infectious fragments of the pathogenic microorganism, or with autologous biopsy extracts from a cancer patient, and then implanted subdermally into the respective host, attracting immune cells to the implantation site, which recognize the stimulus and respond properly. Such universally novel technology is expected to change the map of personalized therapy, where the product is man-centered providing job opportunities to thousands of scientists, while respecting the patients needs, avoiding on-target and off-target side effects.

Traction & achievements

Pre-clinical studies towards cancer immunotherapy, anti-microbial vaccination and immune regulatory therapy have been accomplished and ImmunoRec was established to exploit these results and bring the novel technology of personalized implantable vaccines to health service. The decision to pursuit the exploitation of the pre-clinical results has been a very hard, full of surprises, difficulties and unknown paths to follow. However, disappointment has so far been accompanied by a small boost of hope and ImmunoRec is still following the goal. After getting the classification from the National and European Drug Organization of the product, ImmunoRec has signed contracts with a CRO office for the clinical trial composition and a GMP office for the necessary file preparation. At the same time the company is being advertized, promoted, and involved in scientific meetings and scientific publications.

Team & Why Us

Very few people believed in us. The idea was great, but in the world of business the valley to cross was immense. Along with the Property Development Management Company of the University of Crete, four people took the lead for establishing ImmunoRec: Irene Athanassakis who is a Professor of Immunology, in the Department of Biology, University of Crete; Ioannis Liapakis who is a Plastic Surgeon, George Rizos who is a nurse and physicist and Ioannis Stratakis who is a physiothepapist. Anna Vassiliadis was placed as the Administrator Officer of the company. Collaborators and consultants at the scientific/operational, financial/management and legislative level kept coming and ImmunoRec now lies on 8 scientists in Biology/Physics, 9 people in the finance and management and 2 persons in legislation. Good science is a major key. But business is something else. ImmunoRec learns that the hard way and struggles to make science into real application. The whole team and collaborators share the vision for a better quality of life and need all help they can get.

Funding Needs

At this point the funding needs are estimated to be at the pre-seed level. ImmunoRec must undertake the phase I clinical trial to get the control of the procedure and start spreading the knowledge. Expenses to be undertaken include contracting fees, services, consumables and salaries.