OVIT consortium
OVIT, the Oncolytic Viro-Immunotherapy consortium, was founded in 2012. It brings together clinicians and scientists in oncology, virology, tumour biology and immunology from Erasmus MC, Leiden University Medical Centre, Amsterdam UMC, UMC Utrecht and research organisations including Sanquin. Members share knowledge and expertise in the use of oncolytic viruses.
The focus of OVIT is in pancreatic cancer and other hard-to-treat aggressive cancers such as prostate cancer and glioblastoma. Within OVIT, expertise is shared in the fields of virology, tumour immunology and clinical implementation of treatment options. The mission of OVIT is to promote interdisciplinary research necessary for the successful development and clinical implementation of viroimmune therapy in various types of cancer.
OVIT is developing three types of oncolytic virus based on reovirus, Newcastle disease virus and adenovirus. Laboratory research aims to improve their effectiveness, with evidence suggesting that a personalised approach could produce better results. Selecting the virus best suited to an individual patient may strongly influence the outcome.
Several OVIT researchers have received project grants, while Support Casper makes a substantial contribution across the consortium’s viro-immunotherapy studies.