Revolutionizing Cancer Therapy with LNPs: iWisdom x Prof. Dan Peer

At iWisdom, we’re partnering with NeoVac and Professor Dan Peer, chairperson and co-founder of NeoVac Ltd to explore the potential of Lipid Nanoparticles (LNPs) in cancer treatment. Professor Dan Peer is a leading authority in RNA-based molecular therapies. LNPs have emerged as a crucial tool for delivering RNA-based therapies with precision, providing new avenues for treating cancer. In this blog, we explore the science behind LNPs and their application in oncology, based on the groundbreaking research and publications of Professor Dan Peer.

What Are LNPs?

Lipid Nanoparticles (LNPs) are small lipid-based carriers designed to encapsulate therapeutic agents like mRNA, siRNA, or CRISPR constructs, protecting them from degradation as they travel through the bloodstream. Once they reach the target cells, LNPs facilitate the delivery of these agents into the cells, where they can exert their therapeutic effects. This delivery system ensures stability, targeted action, and controlled release of the therapeutic payload.

LNPs in Cancer Treatment

LNPs offer a promising approach for cancer treatment in several key areas:

1. Targeted RNA Delivery: LNPs enable the delivery of mRNA and siRNA therapies directly to cancer cells. This allows for the precise modulation of genes involved in cancer progression. For example, siRNA can silence genes that promote tumor growth, while mRNA can provide the instructions for cancer cells to produce specific proteins that trigger an immune response.

2. CRISPR-based Gene Editing: LNPs are an effective delivery mechanism for CRISPR-based gene editing tools. This enables the precise modification of cancer-related genes, potentially inhibiting tumor growth or making the tumors more susceptible to other treatments.

3. Immunotherapy Enhancement: LNPs are used to deliver immune-modulating agents to the tumor microenvironment, which can help reprogram immune cells to better fight cancer.

4. Tumor Microenvironment Modulation: LNPs can also deliver therapies that modify the tumor microenvironment, reshaping it to become less supportive of cancer growth. This can enhance the effectiveness of other cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

Challenges in LNP-based Cancer Therapies

Despite their potential, LNPs face several challenges in cancer treatment:

• Targeting Accuracy: Ensuring LNPs deliver their payload specifically to cancer cells without affecting healthy tissues remains a key challenge.

• Immune Response: LNPs can trigger immune responses, which may limit their effectiveness or cause side effects. Strategies to reduce immune recognition while maintaining therapeutic efficacy are critical.

• Stability and Controlled Release: LNPs must be stable in circulation and able to release their payload at the right time. Optimizing the design of LNPs for controlled release is an ongoing area of research.

Future Directions

The potential of LNPs in cancer therapy is vast:

• Personalized Medicine: In his research on mRNA-LNP platforms, Professor Peer has emphasized the potential for creating personalized cancer therapies, tailored to the genetic makeup of individual tumors. This is seen in his exploration of how LNPs can deliver highly specific therapies for different cancer types, allowing for more targeted treatments.

• Combination Therapies: Professor Peer’s work on combining LNP-based systems with immunotherapies, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors, has explored how LNPs can enhance the efficacy of traditional cancer treatments. His studies have highlighted the potential for synergizing LNP treatments with other modalities like chemotherapy and immunotherapy to improve therapeutic outcomes.

• Expanding Applications: In several of his publications, Professor Peer has also explored the broader applications of LNPs beyond oncology. For example, his research into LNPs for gene therapies includes potential treatments for genetic disorders, such as cystic fibrosis, and anti-inflammatory diseases, indicating the broad therapeutic range of LNPs.

In conclusion, LNPs represent a major advancement in cancer treatment, offering a versatile platform for delivering precise RNA-based therapies. As research progresses, the collaboration between iWisdom and Neovac will continue to drive innovation in cancer therapy, offering new hope for patients.

Professor Dan Peer's Publications on LNPs in Cancer Therapy

1. Kon E., Ad-El N., Hazan-Halevy I., Stotsky-Oterin L. and Peer D. Targeting cancer with mRNA-lipid nanoparticles: key considerations and future prospects. Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, 2023. 20(11):739-754.

2. Masarwy R, Breier D, Stotsky-Oterin L, Ad-El N, Qassem S, Naidu GS, Aitha A, Ezra A, Goldsmith M, Hazan-Halevy I, Peer D. Targeted CRISPR/Cas9 Lipid Nanoparticles Elicits Therapeutic Genome Editing in Head and Neck Cancer. Adv Sci (Weinh). 2025 Feb;12(7):e2411032. doi: 10.1002/advs.202411032. Epub 2024 Dec 30. PMID: 39736115; PMCID: PMC11831472.

3. Qassem S, Breier D, Naidu GS, Hazan-Halevy I, Peer D. Unlocking the therapeutic potential of locked nucleic acids through lipid nanoparticle delivery. Mol Ther Nucleic Acids. 2024 May 20;35(2):102224. doi: 10.1016/j.omtn.2024.102224. PMID: 38933259; PMCID: PMC11201112.

4. Granot-Matok Y, Ezra A, Ramishetti S, Sharma P, Naidu GS, Benhar I, Peer D. Lipid nanoparticles-loaded with toxin mRNA represents a new strategy for the treatment of solid tumors. Theranostics. 2023 Jun 12;13(11):3497-3508. doi: 10.7150/thno.82228. PMID: 37441597; PMCID: PMC10334842.

5. Tarab-Ravski D, Hazan-Halevy I, Goldsmith M, Stotsky-Oterin L, Breier D, Naidu GS, Aitha A, Diesendruck Y, Ng BD, Barsheshet H, Berger T, Vaxman I, Raanani P, Peer D. Delivery of Therapeutic RNA to the Bone Marrow in Multiple Myeloma Using CD38-Targeted Lipid Nanoparticles. Adv Sci (Weinh). 2023 Jul;10(21):e2301377. doi: 10.1002/advs.202301377. Epub 2023 May 12. PMID: 37171801; PMCID: PMC10375190.

6. Breier D, Peer D. Genome editing in cancer: Challenges and potential opportunities. Bioact Mater. 2022 Sep 14;21:394-402. doi: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2022.08.013. PMID: 36185740; PMCID: PMC9483578.

7. Yong SB, Ramishetti S, Goldsmith M, Diesendruck Y, Hazan-Halevy I, Chatterjee S, Somu Naidu G, Ezra A, Peer D. Dual-Targeted Lipid Nanotherapeutic Boost for Chemo-Immunotherapy of Cancer. Adv Mater. 2022 Apr;34(13):e2106350. doi: 10.1002/adma.202106350. Epub 2022 Feb 10. PMID: 35044699.

8. Singh MS, Ramishetti S, Landesman-Milo D, Goldsmith M, Chatterjee S, Palakuri R, Peer D. Therapeutic Gene Silencing Using Targeted Lipid Nanoparticles in Metastatic Ovarian Cancer. Small. 2021 May;17(19):e2100287. doi: 10.1002/smll.202100287. Epub 2021 Apr 7. PMID: 33825318.

9. Aday S, Hazan-Halevy I, Chamorro-Jorganes A, Anwar M, Goldsmith M, Beazley-Long N, Sahoo S, Dogra N, Sweaad W, Catapano F, Ozaki-Tan S, Angelini GD, Madeddu P, Benest AV, Peer D, Emanueli C. Bioinspired artificial exosomes based on lipid nanoparticles carrying let-7b-5p promote angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo. Mol Ther. 2021 Jul 7;29(7):2239-2252. doi: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2021.03.015. Epub 2021 Mar 18. PMID: 33744469; PMCID: PMC8261169.

10. Rosenblum D, Gutkin A, Kedmi R, Ramishetti S, Veiga N, Jacobi AM, Schubert MS, Friedmann-Morvinski D, Cohen ZR, Behlke MA, Lieberman J, Peer D. CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing using targeted lipid nanoparticles for cancer therapy. Sci Adv. 2020 Nov 18;6(47):eabc9450. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abc9450. PMID: 33208369; PMCID: PMC7673804.

11. Kon E, Hazan-Halevy I, Rosenblum D, Cohen N, Chatterjee S, Veiga N, Raanani P, Bairey O, Benjamini O, Nagler A, Peer D. Resveratrol Enhances mRNA and siRNA Lipid Nanoparticles Primary CLL Cell Transfection. Pharmaceutics. 2020 Jun 7;12(6):520. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics12060520. PMID: 32517377; PMCID: PMC7355647.

12. Mizrahy S, Hazan-Halevy I, Landesman-Milo D, Ng BD, Peer D. Advanced Strategies in Immune Modulation of Cancer Using Lipid-Based Nanoparticles. Front Immunol. 2017 Feb 6;8:69. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.00069. PMID: 28220118; PMCID: PMC5292579.

13. Masarwy R. , Stotsky-Oterin L., Elisha A. , Hazan-Halevy I.  Peer D. Delivery of Nucleic Acid based Genome Editing Platforms via Lipid Nanoparticles: Clinical Applications. Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews. 2024, 211:115359. doi: 10.1016/j.addr.2024.115359.

14. Naidu G.S, Rampado R., Sharma P., Ezra A., Kundor G.R., Breier D. and Peer D. Ionizible Lipids with Optimized Linkers Enable Lung-Specific, Lipid-Nanoparticles Mediated mRNA Delivery for Treatment of Metastatic Lung Tumors. ACS Nano, 2025, In press.