Funding Boost To Improve Lung Cancer Treatment Outcomes In Aotearoa New Zealand

The Malaghan Institute has been awarded more than $5M funding in the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment’s 2025 round of the Endeavour Fund for a collaboration with the Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre based at the University of Auckland to investigate novel methods to improve patient responses to immunotherapies for lung cancers.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors have revolutionised cancer treatment in recent years. The immunotherapy works by blocking the ‘off signals’ on T-cells – keeping these cancer-killing immune cells fighting cancer, for longer. They are used as a standard treatment for many cancers, including lung, breast and skin cancer.

Despite the success of immune checkpoint inhibitors, many patients don’t respond to the therapy, or the immune response is too weak to completely remove the tumour. The Malaghan Institute’s Hermans Lab and the Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre will be exploring novel immune-stimulant molecules to use alongside immune checkpoint inhibitors to boost their effectiveness and improve patient outcomes.

“This work represents decades of combined experience in creating immunotherapies and targeting therapeutics selectively to tumours,” says Professor Ian Hermans. Through our efforts we have designed a number of promising candidates that boost the effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibitors in preclinical studies for lung cancer.”

Over three years, the team led by Professor Hermans and Associate Professors Adam Patterson and Jeff Smaill from the Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre, aims to gather enough preclinical data on compounds that support immune checkpoint inhibitors, with the goal of attracting commercial investment in a spin-out company to support a phase 1 clinical trial.

“We hope the scientific data generated will take our immuno-oncology product into first-in-human studies, with the ultimate goal of improving lung cancer treatment outcomes in Aotearoa New Zealand,” says Prof Hermans.

The Endeavour Fund supports excellent research that can transform New Zealand’s economy, environment and society. In the 2025 round, nineteen new research programmes and one additional smart ideas project were awarded funding totalling $184.82 million over the next three to five years.

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