T cells are an important part of the immune system, and in recent years scientists have succeeded in creating ‘engineered’ T cells designed specifically to seek out and destroy cancer cells. Scientists are working on a number of cancer treatments based on T cells, but their efforts are hampered by a number of challenges. Firstly, when developing a T cell therapy, it is very hard to predict if it will be safe and how well it will work. Secondly, their manufacture at scale is extremely complicated.

The aim of T2EVOLVE is to develop an innovation ecosystem that will accelerate the development of engineered T cell therapies in the EU.

Among other things, it will do this by delivering tools and markers that will improve our ability to predict the toxicity and efficacy of T cell therapies, as well as techniques to analyse the behaviour of T cells in the body. The team also plans to develop standardised methods for producing T cell therapies and monitoring them during treatment.

Another goal is to integrate patients more fully into all aspects of T cell research and development, and to deliver tools for education to improve communication between healthcare providers and patients.

Finally, the project will address questions on patient access to T cell therapies by issuing recommendations on how to ensure broad patient access to T cell therapies, and how they could be made more affordable.