| NU_Kazakhstan - iGEM 2023

Product overview

Cellcare therapeutics is the latest, innovative approach to in situ treatment of solid carcinoma tumors. Due to its unique system where drug-producing bacteria that specifically react to lactate-rich tumor environment are located directly at the tumor in a thermosensitive hydrogel, our product offers modern oncology not only a smart, localized, and controlled method of treating cancer but also a stable, safe and long-lasting therapeutic effect on the tumor. Therefore, given the aging population of the Earth and the correspondingly increasing demand for solutions to the problem of cancer, our product expects to enter a vast global market. We also carefully approached the issue of practical application and vision of our product as a ready-made kit for the treatment of cancer.

Potential customers

Our end consumers, of course, are patients who are currently fighting solid carcinoma, a small and medium-sized tumor that has not yet metastasized. Given these characteristics, tumor size can be significantly reduced and tumor growth suppressed using our product. However, if Cellcare therapeutics are used in combination with other standard and proven products, the result can be significantly improved. Another critical point for our potential end users is that we also expect that patients may have immunodeficiency diseases such as HIV or weakened immunity after traditional treatments such as chemotherapy. The system is safe even for patients with these conditions and does not pose a threat of sepsis to the patient.

However, it is worth considering the critical fact that due to the specifics of our product, it is currently impossible for patients to use it independently. For encapsulation of bacteria, synthesis of hydrogel, and specific injection of the entire system, specially trained medical personnel are required, which only public and private hospitals and clinics, biotechnology companies, and distributors can afford and properly organize. They can be the buyers of our Cellcare Therapeutics Kits, which will contain specially prepared stocks with genetically modified bacteria and all the necessary hydrogel components and corresponding instructions.

Of course, it makes no sense to talk about the potential country of development of our product or the market in which it will enter first, given that there have yet to be preclinical or clinical trials. However, if we speculate and if the FDA ever allows the use of this method everywhere, it will be necessary to distribute not within one country but throughout the world at once. Fortunately, given that the main therapeutic component is genetically modified bacteria, scaling will not be a significant problem to any extent. Moreover, the hydrogel, in turn, is very easy to synthesize, and obtaining the components for its creation on the required scale is a purely logistical problem.

CellCare theraeutics kit

As was said earlier, our system consists of two components, a hydrogel and genetically modified bacteria, which directly carry a therapeutic component. Our product will be supplied in a unique Cellcare Therapeutics Kit, which will consist of glycerol stock from genetically modified bacteria E. Coli BL-21 and hydrogel composites such as Protosan, Beta glycerophosphate disodium salt and Hyaluronic acid in the required proportions and compositions. Depending on the required number of applications, the Kit will be available in Mini, Midi, and Maxi versions, thus allowing different clients to order the Kit that best suits the scale of their activities and the number of patients. Also, detailed instructions will be provided on how to prepare the hydrogel properly, how to encapsulate bacteria, and to whom, how, and in what quantities Cellcare Therapeutics can be used. Of course, our team is ready to instruct special personnel who will use our product.

Table 1. Cellcare Therapeutics Mini Kit(5x) composition

Item	Quantity
User Manual	1x
Glycerol Stock of Genetically Modified Bacteria	5x
Chitosan	300 mg
β-Glycerophosphate disodium Salt	1500 mg
Hyaluronic acid	75 mg
Needle for injection	5x
Small screw cap vials	2x
Stir bar	1x

User manual

As mentioned earlier, for best results, it is required that specially trained staff in hospitals, clinics, etc., be familiarized with all relevant documents and guidelines before they can directly use our product. It also makes sense and is desirable that the staff is familiarized with the Hydrogel composition adjustment guidebook in order to know its nuances and possibly to adjust it to their conditions and with the material that relates to the modeling of the system. All relevant information can be found on the links. The user manual example itself can be found below.

GUIDEBOOK

USER MANUAL

Safety

Our product, when properly prepared and used, is safe and reliable. However, as stated earlier, it is not recommended for use by people with immunodeficiency diseases, as well as people with heart problems, pregnancy, and other diseases that may complicate the use of Cellcare therapeutics. You can read more about the safety of our product on the safety page, where issues related to safety are discussed and detailed.

Proposed implementation

Product overview

Potential customers

CellCare theraeutics kit

User manual

Safety