Brief description
DC4U BV is a spin-off company of the VU University medical center (VUmc),founded by prof. dr.Yvette van Kooyk, head of the Dendritic Cell Immunobiology Group. DC4U is focused on developing products that enable targeting of tumor vaccines to dendritic cells (DC), the master regulators of the immune system. The DC targeting technology platform used by DC4U is based on unique and proprietary glycan technologies developed at the VUmc. These should enable the design of innovative vaccines for in-vivo DC therapy of inflammatory diseases and cancer. DC4U BV is hosted at the Department of Cell Biology and Immunology of the VUmc.

Unique selling point
DC have been proven to be powerful immune cells, capable of inducing effective anti-tumor responses in cancer patients. At the present time, however, ex-vivo tumor loaded DC made from patients’ own blood are used in the clinic, and this approach is impossible to standardize. DC4U has entered an innovative vaccine development program to design and test in-vivo strategies for DC activation directly in patients’ skin or lymph nodes. It has developed glycol-liposomes that can be used for pre-clinical assessments. At the same time. the company is developing new strategies to transfer its knowledge into the clinic. Candidate vaccines are being prepared for pre-clinical testing in ex vivo human skin explant models. A clinical study in colon cancer patients with lead candidates will then be performed to achieve clinical proof of concept.

Current stage of R&D
DC4U was granted a research and development grant from SenterNovem (Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs) to fund a collaborative drug discovery program in which several national and international partners participate.

Contact details
Yvette van Kooyk, PhD
Dep. of Molecular Cell Biology & Immunology
Vumc / FdG, room C270
Van der Boechorststraat 7
1081 BT Amsterdam
The Netherlands

Phone +31 (0)20 44 48 084
E-mail y.vankooyk@vumc.nl