The National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR) highlighted research results related to the Macrophage-Drug Conjugate (MDC) technology developed by an international research team including scientists from Poland and Switzerland.

 

The work, described in the publication “Adoptive cell therapy with macrophage-drug conjugates facilitates cytotoxic drug transfer and immune activation in glioblastoma models”, was published in Science Translational Medicine in June 2025.

 

The study received the Pfizer Research Foundation Prize 2026 in Oncology, awarded to Dr. Maciej Białasek (Cellis/SGGW), Dr. Tobias Weiss, and Dr. Miaomiao Sun (University of Zurich) for their contributions to the development of MDC technology.

 

The research originated from the project “Innovative cellular therapy for glioma”, carried out by Cellis with support from NCBR and European Funds.

 

“The Pfizer Research Foundation Prize 2026 was awarded to Cellis in recognition of the breakthrough publication in Science Translational Medicine, which resulted from our project on an innovative cellular therapy for glioma. This distinction is granted only to teams that have made a significant contribution to oncology and demonstrated real translational potential – the ability to translate scientific discoveries into therapies available to patients,” said Prof. Magdalena Król, Professor at Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW) and Director of the Centre for Cellular Immunotherapies.

 

NCBR Director Prof. Jerzy Małachowski emphasized that the project demonstrates the capacity of Polish science and the biotechnology sector to develop advanced cellular therapies with global impact.