Mimetas partners with Attivare Therapeutics to accelerate innovation in cancer research

16 December 2025

Put in place to accelerate the development of innovative cancer therapies through collaboration initiatives, the Netherlands-based Oncode Accelerator program announces launching of its Demonstrator Project. Through this project, researchers and drug developers will be able to share expertise, experimental platforms, and infrastructure to advance novel therapeutic approaches.

Recent advances in cancer therapies and in particular immunotherapy have produced meaningful benefits for cancer patients. Yet, these therapies have shown variable degrees of success and many challenges remain to be addressed. Only a subset of patients mount a durable immune response and it is difficult to predict which patients will benefit. Tumors can evade or suppress immunity through mechanisms like low antigen visibility, an immunosuppressive microenvironment, or acquired resistance.

Animal models of human cancers are poorly predictive of responses in patients - over 2011-2020, the likelihood of approval of drugs for cancer was only 5.3%.  Even when partially "humanized" to integrate select human immune components, animals cannot recapitulate the human-specific interactions between the human immune system and the rest of the human body that shape responses to immunotherapy. Owing to inter-species differences in the tumor microenvironment (extracellular matrix composition, stromal cells behaviour, cytokine signaling, angiogenesis), animal models are ill suited to investigate the mechanisms by which tumors act on immunity in humans. In addition, animal models fail to capture the extensive heterogeneity seen in human tumors, hindering development of personalized therapeutic solutions.

Consequently, developing effective cancer therapies will necessitate moving past traditional models and adopting human-based experimental platforms.

With this objective in mind, the Demonstrator Project will bring together Attivare Therapeutics, MIMETAS, and Amsterdam UMC. Attivare Therapeutics'  ATTimmune platform enables controlled, sustained release of therapeutic agents into the tumor microenvironment, enhancing the magnitude and the durability of patient immune responses. By leveraging its human-based organ-on-chip platform, MIMETAS will provide advanced tumor microenvironment models to better predict treatment responses in cancer patients and identify patient populations most likely to benefit. The medical center Amsterdam UMC will mobilize its extensive experience in immune monitoring to assess immune responses, drug efficacy, and mechanism of action.

"This collaboration gives us an incredible opportunity to engage with world-class partners and access validation tools beyond our own internal capabilities. Working with MIMETAS and Amsterdam UMC is an exciting step forward for our technology platform and for patients who urgently need better cancer treatment options." said Jessica McDonough, Co-founder and COO of Attivare Therapeutics.

Leiden-based MIMETAS is a global leader in human-relevant disease models for drug discovery and development. Based on its proprietary OrganoPlate® platform, MIMETAS has developed a broad spectrum of disease assays with unrivalled physiological comprehensiveness. The company deploys its disease models in partnerships with the global top-50 pharmaceutical industry to find and develop first-in-class targets and compounds.