NextGenNK

On January 22, 2025, NextGenNK and CCRM Nordic hosted a mini-symposium at Karolinska Institutet, Campus Flemingsberg, focused on Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMP). The event aimed to foster collaboration between academia, hospital, and industry, highlighting advancements in ATMP development in Sweden.

UIDP, a global association of leading companies and universities visited KI on December 6th, 2024. Among other activities, UIDP took part in listening to a presentation by NextGenNK Director Hans-Gustaf Ljunggren, during its year-long effort to directly address the need to strengthen and modernize university-industry partnerships through bold approaches that dramatically increase impact from collaborative innovation.

The National ATMP Research School is now open for applications, with a deadline of January 20th, 2025. The program offers three participation options: co-funded PhD positions, affiliated PhD positions, and standalone course enrollment. 

On November 25-26th, 2024 ATMP Sweden organized the 5th annual ATMP Sweden conference in Malmö. NextGenNK co-directors Evren Alici and Karl-Johan Malmberg, and board member Veronique Chotteau participated.

On November 7th, Hans-Gustaf Ljunggren, the Director of NextGenNK, attended a meeting with global leaders from CCRM and representatives from CCRM Nordic. The discussion focused on i) Stockholm/Uppsala’s expectations of CCRM Nordic, ii) the requirements for integrating CCRM Nordic into the Stockholm/Uppsala ecosystem, iii) ways to collaboratively enhance Nordic competitiveness in the ATMP field, and iv) the shared vision for progress over the next five years.

In the second week of September, Hans-Gustaf Ljunggren, NextGenNK Director, together with KI President Annika Wernerson, met up with the Vinnova General Director Darja Isaksson. Among things discussed were advances within the ATMP field including NextGenNK’s efforts in developing novel NK cell-based immunotherapies. On a larger scale, the research and innovation development in Europe were discussed.

Hans-Gustaf Ljunggren, Director of the NextGenNK Competence Center, was among the invited speakers at the ongoing Industrial Collaboration Seminar Series organized by Cancer Research KI. Hans-Gustaf shared insights from his extensive experience in academia-industry partnerships.

In June, members of NextGenNK, including Andreas Lundqvist and Hans-Gustaf Ljunggren, organized the GRK2727 Stockholm Workshop. This event was a collaborative effort between the University of Heidelberg and Karolinska Institutet and is designed specifically for graduate students. The workshop focused on topics such as innate immunity, NK cells, and the modulation of interactions between immune cells and tumor cells through checkpoint blockade.

This spring, NextGenNK underwent a comprehensive five-year evaluation. The five-year evaluation included detailed reporting and a one-day visit by an international panel of experts. Their findings, presented on 30 May, praised NextGenNK as a well-functioning and successful Competence Center. 

CAMP, a national competence center within Vinnova's research program for biological medicines, is part of the ATMP Sweden initiative. On May 22nd, 2024 the national CAMP-organized ATMP R&D arranged a project meeting at Karolinska Institutet. NextGenNK Directors Hans-Gustaf Ljunggren and Evren Alici participated.

Ashley Moffett, Professor Emerita at the University of Cambridge, UK, was awarded KI’s honorary doctorate for a lifetime of research that has made groundbreaking discoveries concerning the biological mechanisms behind severe conditions associated with pregnancy.

Hans-Gustaf Ljunggren hosted Ashley Moffett at one of the seminars at Karolinska Institutet, where she gave a presentation entitled “From NK cells to pre-eclampsia: the role of the immune system in pregnancy.” 

Karl-Johan Malmberg receives SEK 19 million to investigate how a subset of NK cells so called “adaptive NK cells”, can be targeted against difficult-to-treat cancer.

This year, The Swedish Cancer Society is making an extra investment in clinical studies and has therefore granted 120 million to 10 research projects. One of the scientists receiving funding is cancer-researcher Karl-Johan Malmberg at Karolinska Institutet, part of the steering group of the NextGenNK competence center. 

Evren Alici, co-director of NextGenNK Competence Center was one of the invited speakers at the Advanced Therapies Week, January 16th-19th, Miami, Florida, USA. At the meeting he discussed “Designing optimal clinical trials and clinical operations for advanced therapies”. 

On January 22nd 2024 Hans-Gustaf Ljunggren, Evren Alici, and parts of the NextGenNK faculty, met a delegation Innovate UK to discuss prospects for collaborations in the intersection between KI and British Biotech Industry.