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For diseases that are difficult to cure, such as certain forms of cancer and autoimmune disorders, RNA-based medicines could make a real difference. But getting these medicines to the right location in the body remains a major challenge.

The aNP Platform: a delivery service inside the body

Roy van der Meel, Associate Professor of Precision Medicine at 黑料福利网, describes himself as a package delivery person for medicines. Together with Full Professor Willem Mulder, he develops nanoparticles made from the body's own fats and proteins that can transport RNA-based medicines. Their inspiration comes from the natural HDL system, which normally transports cholesterol. The result is a kind of in-body medicine delivery service: the apolipoprotein nanoparticle (aNP) platform.

When delivering packages, two things matter: the contents need to be well protected, and the package needs to arrive at the right place, Van der Meel explains. Because the nanoparticles are largely made from the body's own materials, they cause fewer side effects, and the delivery process is more efficient. The nanoparticles can also be fitted with biological address labels, ensuring they are delivered only to specific immune cells or stem cells.

A breakthrough for autoimmune diseases and cancer

This nanotechnology is particularly well suited for developing new immunotherapies. Rather than heavy chemotherapy that affects all dividing cells, the aNP platform can deliver RNA medicines directly to the immune cells that fight cancer, or conversely, suppress the immune response in autoimmune diseases. Van der Meel sees great promise in in vivo chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy: administering nanoparticles that prompt the body to reprogram its own immune cells into targeted cancer fighters. 鈥淯nlike current ex vivo CAR鈥慣 cell therapy, that would be much cheaper and also suitable for the treatment of, for example, autoimmune diseases.鈥�

I believe in the potential of nanotechnology to activate immune cells, so they go after tumor cells in a targeted way.

Roy van der Meel, Associate Professor of Precision Medicine

The collaboration between 黑料福利网 and Radboudumc enables rapid development from lab prototypes to patient applications. To help bring innovations into the clinic, Professor Willem Mulder founded biotech incubator , where researchers work alongside investors and pharmaceutical companies.

The future of personalized medicine

The aNP nanotechnology has also taken on a deeply human dimension. When colleague Paul Janssen lost his young son Wies to brainstem cancer, the Wies Alliance was born: a collaboration between 黑料福利网, Radboudumc, and the Princess M谩xima Center to accelerate the development of immunotherapy for brain tumors in children.

There are currently almost no treatments for these tumors. Operating in the brainstem is often not possible, and getting medicines there effectively is equally difficult, says Van der Meel. It would be incredible if we could find a way to do that in the future.

On the future of medical nanotechnology, Van der Meel remains resolutely optimistic: With RNA medicines, we can rapidly develop personalized therapies, such as cancer vaccines or even treatments for rare diseases through gene editing.

His ambition is clear: That the development of our nanotechnology doesn't stop with scientific publications, but ultimately makes a real difference for patients.