A European consortium consisting of Glycostem Therapeutics, Karolinska Institutet, Erasmus MC, and CCRM Nordic has been awarded Eurostars funding for RESET, a project aimed at developing Europe’s first standardized CD19-targeted CAR-NK therapy for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and other B cell–driven autoimmune diseases. The application ranked #1 both in the Swedish and in the Dutch national evaluation lists, underscoring the strength of the scientific concept and the consortium behind it.
RESET brings together complementary expertise: Glycostem’s NK-cell engineering platform, CCRM Nordic’s lentiviral vector manufacturing, and clinical and immunology excellence from Karolinska Institutet and Erasmus MC. The collaboration also represents two leading Swedish organizations coming together around a shared commitment to advance ATMP development nationally, thereby strengthening Sweden’s position in the field.
Current treatments targeting B cells, such as CD19 CAR-T therapies or CD20 antibodies, can be effective but often come with significant side effects and limited accessibility. RESET addresses this by developing an off-the-shelf, allogeneic CAR-NK therapy designed to offer high efficacy, a safer profile, broader eligibility, and significantly reduced manufacturing costs.
“This project showcases the potential of CAR-NK therapies to transform treatment for both autoimmune diseases and cancer,” says Dr. Anna-Maria Georgoudaki, project leader for RESET and Sr. Research Manager at Glycostem Therapeutics. “By combining our NK-cell engineering platform with the strengths of our academic and manufacturing partners, we aim to bring a new class of precision immunotherapy to patients who urgently need better options.”
The consortium will develop a novel CAR-NK product derived from umbilical cord blood–derived hematopoietic stem cells (UCB-HSCs) using Glycostem Therapeutics’ uNiKTM platform, a first-of-its-kind therapeutic approach for SLE in Europe with potential application across other autoimmune diseases and B cell malignancies. Nearly 10 million people in Europe live with B cell–mediated autoimmune disorders that require lifelong treatment while having to deal with accumulating side effects.
Associate Professor Ioannis Parodis team at Karolinska Institutet and Professor Peter Katsikis team at Erasmus MC will analyze patient immune responses using multi-omics technologies, generating insights to guide clinical trial design and indication expansion. CCRM Nordic will provide lentiviral vector manufacturing, a key enabler of scalable and cost-efficient genetic engineering
“RESET brings together world-class expertise in immunology, manufacturing, and clinical development to solve one of the most pressing challenges in cell therapy: how to make safe, scalable, and affordable products for widespread patient use,” said Michael Delahaye, CTO at CCRM Nordic. “Our collaborative work in co-developing cost-efficient lentiviral vector manufacturing is essential for making allogeneic CAR-NK therapies truly accessible.”
By integrating advanced NK cell engineering, scalable manufacturing technologies, deep understanding of immunological mechanisms and a refined clinical strategy, the RESET consortium aims to deliver a transformative immunotherapy platform capable of serving both established oncology markets and emerging autoimmune indications.