The University of California (UC) Berkeley and Aduro Biotech said they will partner to develop new immunotherapies for treating and preventing cancer, infectious disease, and autoimmune disease.

The collaboration, known as the Immunotherapeutics and Vaccine Research Initiative (IVRI), is UC Berkeley’s first-ever immunotherapy-focused initiative. It is intended to combine UC Berkeley’s research capabilities with the company’s expertise in immunotherapy discovery and development.

Aduro will provide UC Berkeley with $7.5 million in research funding over the next 3 years, with an option for Aduro to increase and extend funding for up to an additional 3 years.

UC Berkeley researchers will also have the opportunity to use Aduro’s novel technology platforms, including LADD, STING Pathway Activators, and B-select monoclonal antibodies, designed to harness the body's natural immune system.

Aduro's LADD platform is based on proprietary attenuated strains of Listeria engineered to express tumor-associated antigens to induce specific and targeted immune responses. The platform is being developed as a treatment for indications that include pancreatic, lung, and prostate cancers, mesothelioma, and glioblastoma. The company’s STING Pathway Activator platform is designed to activate the intracellular STING receptor, resulting in a tumor-specific immune response; the B-select monoclonal antibody platform includes a number of immune-modulating assets in research and preclinical development.

“We hope to develop new methods for targeting and effectively controlling many different cancers, autoimmune and infectious diseases. Our goal is for these findings to pave the way for the development of innovative new treatment options,” David Raulet, faculty director of the IVRI and a professor of immunology and pathogenesis at UC Berkeley, said in a statement.

The partners said they envisioned IVRI as a center for research to develop mechanistic understanding and application of immunology, pathogenesis, and vaccinology with the potential to impact the treatment of human disease.

The IVRI will coordinate and direct the efforts of UC Berkeley researchers and their collaborators and sponsors toward discoveries and the development of creative new applications in disease prophylaxis and treatment, the school and Aduro said.

Previous articleTissue Regeneration Promoted through Gene Suppression
Next articleiPSCs Form Multiple Types of In Vivo Functional Lymphocytes