News & Events
Dr. Javad Nazarian Appointed as CBTN Scientific Committee Co-Chair, September 2023
DIPG/DMG Center Zurich and Children’s Brain Tumor Network (CBTN) announce the appointment of Dr. Javad Nazarian as its new Co-Chair of the Scientific Committee.
Dr. Nazarian’s appointment signifies a significant step forward in the CBTN mission to advance the understanding and treatment of childhood brain tumors.
As CBTN Scientific Committee Co-Chair, Dr. Nazarian is committed to fostering collaboration and advancing preclinical research. He envisions real-time drug screening collaborations to accelerate progress in pediatric brain tumor research.
Learn more about Dr. Javad Nazarian’s journey and vision for pediatric brain tumor research: Dr. Javad Nazarian of Children’s National Hospital Appointed as CBTN Scientific Committee Co-Chair | Children’s Brain Tumor Network
Yuvaan Tiwari foundation supports another year of research on drug resistance of DMG cells, July 2023
Yuvaan Tiwari Postdoctoral Fellowship is extended for another year to last until July 2024. We are very grateful that we have the opportunity to proceed with our work on drug resistance in DMG tumor cells. The hypothesis of the project is that effective co-targeting of OXPHOS and PI3K, i.e., glycolysis, will enable the initiation of effective therapeutic arms through the DMG-ACT clinical trial.
New publication in “European Journal of Cancer”,
January 2023
We are happy to announce that our manuscript “Real-time drug testing of paediatric diffuse midline glioma to support clinical decision making: The Zurich DIPG/DMG centre experience” is published in the European Journal of Cancer (Volume 178, January 2023, Pages 171-179).
We established a systematic workflow for safe, robot-assisted brainstem biopsies and in-house tissue processing, followed by real-time drug testing. This provides valuable insights into tumour prognostic and individual treatment strategies targeting relevant vulnerabilities in these tumours in a clinically meaningful time frame.
Please find the publication here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejca.2022.10.014
We thank all our collaborators, supporters and donors!
Profs Sabine Mueller and Javad Nazarian honored by Governor of the State of Maryland, December 2022
Prof Sabine Mueller, MD PhD MAS and Prof Javad Nazarian, PhD were recognized by the United States Senator Chris van Hollen and the Governor Larry Hogen of the State of Maryland, USA for their efforts in finding a cure for pediatric patients suffering from diffuse midline glioma.
PNOC022 is now open at University Children’s Hospital Zurich, November 2022
We would like to announce that the clinical trial PNOC022 (A Combination Therapy Trial using an Adaptive Platform Design for Children and Young Adults with Diffuse Midline Gliomas (DMGs) including Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Gliomas (DIPGs) at Initial Diagnosis, Post-Radiation Therapy and at Time of Progression) ist now open for enrollment in Switzerland. The trial aims to evaluate combination of ONC201 with other therapeutic candidates that showed synergistic effects in pre-clinical settings. The first combination is paxalisib and ONC201. Newly diagnosed DMG patients with and without prior radiation therapy as well as DMG patients at time of progression can be enrolled.
Please contact glioma@kispi.uzh.ch for further information.
PNOC023 is now open for children, September 2022
We are very happy to announce that the University Children’s hospital Zurich can now enroll pediatric patients on the clinical trial PNOC023: Open label Phase 1 and Target Validation study of ONC206 in Children and Young
Adults with Newly Diagnosed or Recurrent Diffuse Midline Glioma (DMG), and Other Recurrent Primary Malignant Central Nervous System (CNS) Tumors
Please be aware that slots are very limited. Please contact glioma@kispi.uzh.ch for further details.
DIPG/DMG center at the University Zurich participates in REPRO4EU project, September 2022
We are very excited to be part of a unique and fantastic consortium which was funded by the EU and the SERI (Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation).
REPO4EU’s ultimate goal is to build and grow an industry-level European online platform for validated precision drug repurposing with a global reach. This platform will operate as the go-to data hub for key information, training resources, matchmaking and cooperation in drug repurposing.
The platform will provide extensive expertise throughout the whole value chain in drug repurposing: from freedom-to-operate analysis to intellectual property protection and business development, health technology assessment, ethics and data governance considerations.
During the next 7 years, 28 partners from 10 countries (The Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Spain, Sweden, Romania, Belgium, Portugal, Switzerland and the United States) will join forces to make REPO4EU a reality and create a unique platform for drug repurposing, pooling stakeholders and expertise at a global stage to create a “made in Europe”, fully-fledged infrastructure for drug repurposing.
Kick-off of the project was performed in Maastricht, 1st and 2nd of September 2022. Please find more information here: www.repo4.eu
DIPG center receives generous donation from patient family, August 2022
Thanks to a significant donation from a patient’s family the DIPG center is able to employ another team member. This person will act in between clinic and pre-clinic and will use patient derived tumor cells for extensive analysis and drug screen.
DIPG center receives generous donation from Tarbaca Foundation, August 2022
In order to support the center for the conduct of clinical trials the foundation granted a donation for 3 years. The funds will be used to cover salary staff costs required to set up, manage and monitor the clinical trials for DIPG patients.
Results of clinical trial PNOC003 published, July 2022
Please find the paper here: PNOC003 paper 2022
Tiwari foundation supports another year of research on drug resistance of DMG cells, July 2022
Thanks to the generous donation of the “Tiwari Foundation”, USA we will target several molecules of PI3K pathway in order to identify their role in DMG resistance or sensitivity to ONC201 and potentially develop alternative combination therapies to overcome this resistance for children diagnosed with DMG.
DMG-ACT meeting in the Alps is supported by SNF and the ChadTough Defeat DIPG foundation, May 2022
We are very happy to announce that the annual DMG-ACT meeting will this year be held in Zurich, at Campus Balgrist from October 30th to November 2nd 2022. We are looking forward to new insights and discussions.
Publication in “Neuro-Oncology” on the effect of imipridones on tumor cells, February 2022
We are pleased to announce that our manuscript on effects of imipridones was recently published in journal Neuro-Oncology. Neuro-Oncology is a prestigious peer-reviewed medical journal that is well read by the neurooncology community.
The manuscript is the first to establish the efficacy of ONC201, ONC206, and combination in DMG/DIPGs and provide a detail molecular mechanism of drug action. Data reported in this manuscript have enabled the initiation of two clinical trials (PNOC022, and PNOC023) through Pacific Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Consortium for treatment of children diagnosed with DMG.
We thank our supporters and donors for supporting this work.
PNOC023 open for enrollment of adult patients, February 2022
We are very excited to announce that we are activated for patient enrollment on this clinical trial as the only European site. The aim of the trial is to evaluate safety and efficacy of ONOC026 in DIPG/DMG patients and patients with a recurrent primary malignant CNS tumor. The study divides into two parts: a dose finding phase and a target validation phase. It is anticipated to enroll 20 patients at the University Children’s Hospital Zurich. Currently only patients at the age of 18 – 21 years can be included in Switzerland.
Generous donation from private sponsor, January 2022
An international private donor supported the DIPG/DMG center Zurich with a generous donation. This funds will be used to pertain high quality pre-clinical investigations and supportive measures to obtain approval for clinical trials in Switzerland.
PNOC026 open for patient enrollment, August 30th 2021
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of DAY101 in pediatric patients aged 6 months to 25 years of age as monotherapy in pediatric patients with a recurrent or progressive LGG harboring a known activating BRAF alteration. The primary endpoint is ORR as defined by the RANO criteria, determined by an IRC.
Retreat Meeting of DIPG/DMG Center in Zurich July 6th 2021
Pre-clinical as well as clinical researchers and tem members joined in July 2021 for a retreat meeting at Campus Balgrist, Zurich. Current and upcoming trials and research projects as well as planned grants were presented and discussed. An update was also given on the FUS project by Dr. Beat Werner. It was very valuable to share the development so far and the achieved goals with the whole team. Especially after such a long period of distance keeping and video conferencing due to pandemic related restrictions.
Yuvaan Tiwari Postdoctoral Fellowship at University Children’s Hospital Zurich, starting July 1st
We are very honored and grateful for the generous donation we received from Satya and Parvati Tiwari to establish the “Yuvaan Tiwari Postdoctoral Fellowship” at the DIPG/DMG Research Center, led by Prof. Dr. Javad Nazarian. Dr. Evan Santos will start this position on July 1, 2021. This donation will enable to further advance research on these deadly tumors.
PNOC019 open for patient enrollment, April 14th 2021
This international, multi-center clinical trial is open for patients (6 months – 22 years) with recurrent or progressive High Grade Glioma (HGG). The study aims to evaluate the immunological local and systemic changes following neoadjuvant checkpoint inhibition, as well as the preliminary efficacy of neoadjuvant checkpoint inhibition followed by surgery and adjuvant combination checkpoint inhibition in children and young adults with progressive or recurrent HGG.
PNOC007 open for patient enrollment, December 17th 2020
The purpose of this study is to test the safety and first signs of efficacy of a H3.3K27M specific peptide vaccine (K27M/TT), in combination with a drug called poly-ICLC and Nivolumab in children and young adults (3-21 years) that have been newly diagnosed with a diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) or another type of glioma. Thus is a multi-center clinical trial with multiple sites in the USA and one at the University Children’s Hospital Zurich in Switzerland.
SNF Sinergia Grant at DMG Center Zurich, November 26th 2020
The Swiss National Fund approved the Sinergia proposal of Dr. Javad Nazarian as the lead PI and Prof.Dr. Mehmet Fatih Yanik (ETH) and Dr.Sebastian Waszak (Centre for Molecular Medicine Norway) as co-applicants. With 3.1 Mio CHF over 4 years the team aims to merge novel technologies for rapid identification and validation of therapies capable of extending the survival of children diagnosed with diffuse midline gliomas. The proposal includes a stepwise process that employs expertise of a multidisciplinary team to achieve a significant impact on patient treatment options.
We are very much looking forward to first results from this interdisciplinary research team!
Trans-Atlantic DIPG/DMG Tumor board, November 9th 2020
The first Trans-Atlantic Tumor Board took place on November 9th, 2020 from 5 PM – 6 PM CET / 8 AM- 9 AM PT. More than 20 experts in the care of children and young adults with Diffuse Midline Glioma from UCSF and Zurich Children’s Hospital were present. The combined discussion with experts around the world truly enhances the evaluation and recommendations for these patients. The combined tumor board will take place on a weekly basis.
