Our academic collaborators’ seminal contributions push the field forward
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The right collaborators across pharma, biotech and nonprofit
The next generation of scientific leaders in cancer immunotherapy
Stories & Announcements
PICI in the News
Resources for Press
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Special Event Celebrates Career of PICI Center Director Carl H. June, MD
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PICI Network Researchers to Present at SITC Spring Scientific
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Year in Review: PICI Progress in 2022
Develop breakthrough immune therapies to turn all cancers into curable diseases faster
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Our ambition is to radically change the way research is done – and turn all cancers into curable diseases. So we created a new game-changing approach. We assembled a unique constellation of the top minds in the field to make big bets, conduct bold research and create the best outcomes to leverage the promise of immunotherapy. In just a few short years, we’ve celebrated numerous crucial milestones.
340+
PICI-supported Research Projects
10+
TREATMENT AGENTS STUDIED
236
Inventions Supported
7,547
Media Mentions
In just over three years, we’ve been hard at work, transforming the way cancer research is done to save lives. Our progress speaks for itself. Take a look at our 2019 Annual Report to see what we’ve achieved over the past year.
A PICI-backed research team at Penn, in partnership with Tmunity Therapeutics, showed that genetically-edited immune cells can “survive and thrive” after being infused into cancer patients. This is the first-ever clinical trial testing this approach in humans in the U.S. Findings were published in February 2020 in Science.
In January 2020, we kicked off our TRIBUTE study to identify the biomarkers that can predict who will respond to this treatment and determine whether the cancer is advancing.
What began in conversation during a PICI retreat between PICI investigators E. John Wherry, Alex Marson and Kole Roybal became the formal launch of ArsenalBio. They’re improving T cell therapies to fight a broader range of cancers more effectively.
In a groundbreaking clinical trial, our scientists found that combining immunotherapy with chemotherapy shrank tumors in a majority of advanced pancreatic cancer patients. These results demonstrate the success of our collaborative model for a high-need cancer.
We brought together cancer and type 1 diabetes researchers to better understand and prevent autoimmunity following cancer immunotherapy – the first time leaders from these two specialties have come together to explore the intersection of these chronic diseases.
So far we’ve awarded talented young researchers more than $10 million in funding, along with the opportunity to train with top PICI scientists. We also conduct retreats to foster collaboration among select early career researchers. We have supported 49 early career researchers to date.
Solid tumors have historically been resistant to immunotherapy. We are investigating the use of PsiOxus’ proprietary T-SIGn platform to activate the immune system in a new way to treat these tough cancers.