Swiss researcher wins European Inventor award
Swiss biotechnologist Madiha Derouazi has been awarded a prestigious European Inventor prize together with the French immunologist Elodie Benoue.
The two scientists won the European Inventor Award jointly in the SMEs category from the European Patent Office (EPO) for their vaccine assembly platform, the office announced on Tuesday.
The vaccine could be used to treat different types of cancer, boosting the immune system’s response to the disease and offering new hope for cancer treatment, the EPO saidExternal link.
“Derouazi and Belnoue’s invention assembles three essential components of a vaccine into a single protein [……] to produce vaccines for different types of cancer. They are intended for use alongside treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy,” the EPO said.
The KISIMA platform was first used to produce a vaccine designed to treat metastatic colorectal cancer, and early-stage human trials are underway.
Derouazi studied biology and biotechnology in Geneva, Berlin and Lausanne before completing a post-doc at the French National Center for Scientific Research in Paris.
Launched in 2006, the award, which is attributed in five different categories, honours individuals and team solutions to some of the biggest challenges, the EPO said.
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