The most common and most aggressive brain tumor in adults remains difficult to treat even today. That is why Tobias Weiss of the University of Zurich (UZH) and his team are investigating more effective therapies. The research is funded by the Helmut Horten Foundation with three million Swiss francs.
The FIRE-GBM (Multifunctional Immune Cell Reprogramming for Eradication of Glioblastoma) project, funded by the Helmut Horten Foundation and led by PD Dr. med. Dr. sc. nat. Tobias Weiss of UZH, aims to develop the next generation of cellular immunotherapies for the treatment of solid tumors. Alongside Tobias Weiss, Prof. Dr. Judith Zaugg and Prof. Dr. med. Dr. sc. nat. Gregor Hutter from the University of Basel are conducting research into new therapies.
The project comprises a novel screening platform to identify immune cell modifications that confer resistance against the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, as well as a Phase 1 clinical study to evaluate such an optimized cell therapy product in patients with glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive primary brain tumor in adults. The project will run for four years, from early March 2026 to late February 2030. The funding awarded by the Helmut Horten Foundation amounts to almost three million Swiss francs.
