Abstract: The present invention relates to methods of forming star polymers having configurable architecture in which arms are synthesized by means of living anionic polymerization, with the arms being conjugated with a core, the core comprising m coupling groups, each coupling group having n methylene groups. The invention further relates to star polymers produced therefrom.

Abstract: The present invention relates to methods for predicting T cell epitopes. In particular, the present invention relates to methods for predicting whether modifications in peptides or polypeptides such as tumor-associated neoantigens are immunogenic or not. The methods of the invention are useful, in particular, for the provision of vaccines which are specific for a patient's tumor and, thus, in the context of personalized cancer vaccines.

Abstract: The invention relates to a copolymer for galenic applications, having an acrylate backbone and sidearms, containing ?-hydroxycarboxylic acid groups. The invention further relates to the process of preparing the foregoing copolymer for galenic applications and its use thereof.

Abstract: The present invention embraces a RNA replicon that can be replicated by a replicase of alphavirus origin. The RNA replicon comprises sequence elements required for replication by the replicase, but these sequence elements do not encode any protein or fragment thereof, such as an alphavirus non-structural protein or fragment thereof. Thus, in the RNA replicon according to the invention, sequence elements required for replication by the replicase and protein-coding region(s) are uncoupled. According to the present invention the uncoupling is achieved by the removal of at least one initiation codon compared to a native alphavirus genomic RNA. In particular, the RNA replicon comprises a 5? replication recognition sequence, wherein the 5? replication recognition sequence is characterized in that it comprises the removal of at least one initiation codon compared to a native alphavirus 5? replication recognition sequence.

Abstract: The present invention relates to methods for predicting T cell epitopes useful for vaccination. In particular, the present invention relates to methods for predicting whether modifications in peptides or polypeptides such as tumor-associated neoantigens are immunogenic and, in particular, useful for vaccination, or for predicting which of such modifications are most immunogenic and, in particular, most useful for vaccination. The methods of the invention may be used, in particular, for the provision of vaccines which are specific for a patient's tumor and thus, in the context of personalized cancer vaccines.

Abstract: The present invention provides molecules that mimic antigenic determinants of the CD3 (cluster of differentiation 3) T-cell co-receptor epsilon chain (CD3?). These molecules compete with CD3? for binding to a CD3? binding domain. e.g. a CD3? binding domain of an antibody, and are capable of detecting antibodies against CD3?. The mimotopes of the invention may be used to generate or inhibit immune responses in animals and preferably humans. Additionally, they may serve as tools for anti-CD3? antibody purification and the detection of anti-CD3? antibodies in biological samples.

Abstract: The present invention relates to 3-(5-fluoroindolyl)-4-arylmaleimide compounds and pharmaceutical compositions containing them. The compounds of the present invention are protein kinases (GSK-3beta, VEGFR-2 and FLT-3) with antineoplastic activity. They can therefore be used for the treatment or prevention of tumors, in particular solid tumors.

Abstract: The invention relates to a polymerization method in which alkyl glycidyl ethers and epoxides, such as ethylene oxide, polypropylene oxide, 1-ethoxyethyl glycidyl ether and gycidol, are copolymerized and block copolymers are synthesized. The inventive methods include an initiator, oligomer blocks of 1 to 40 alkyl glycidyl ether units of type (I), (II) or (III), and 80 to 1000 epoxy units of large polyether blocks, such as polyethylene oxide (PEO), polypropylene oxide (PPO), polyethoxyethylene glycidyl ether (PEEGE), linear and branched polyglycidol (PG, hbPG) or random copolymers of two, three or four different epoxide units, such as ethylene oxide (EO), propylene oxide (PO), 1-ethoxyethyl glycidyl ether (EEGE) and/or glycidol.

Abstract: The present invention relates to cytokine fusion proteins and to nucleic acid molecules encoding such cytokine fusion proteins. The present invention further relates to cells, non-human organisms. pharmaceutical compositions and kits comprising the cytokine fusion proteins or the nucleic acid molecules encoding them, as well as to their use as medicaments.

Abstract: The present invention relates to the provision of vaccines which are specific for a patient's tumor and are potentially useful for immunotherapy of the primary tumor as well as tumor metastases. In one aspect, the present invention relates to a method for providing an individualized cancer vaccine comprising the steps: (a) identifying cancer specific somatic mutations in a tumor specimen of a cancer patient to provide a cancer mutation signature of the patient; and (b) providing a vaccine featuring the cancer mutation signature obtained in step (a). In a further aspect, the present invention relates to vaccines which are obtainable by said method.

Abstract: The present invention provides antibodies useful as therapeutics for treating and/or preventing diseases associated with cells expressing CLD18, including tumor-related diseases such as gastric cancer, esophageal cancer, pancreatic cancer, lung cancer, ovarian cancer, colon cancer, hepatic cancer, head-neck cancer, and cancer of the gallbladder.

Abstract: The present invention relates specific activation of a regulatory T cell via a specific CD4 epitope and uses thereof, e.g. for the treatment of an autoimmune disease or an allergy or asthma or graft rejection or tolerance induction.

Abstract: The present invention relates to nucleic acid molecules containing poly (dA:dT) regions which are stabilized in E. coli, methods of propagating such nucleic acid molecules in E. coli, methods of obtaining RNA, peptides or proteins using such nucleic acid molecules and to RNA which is obtained from such nucleic acid molecules and its use. In particular, the poly (dA:dT) regions contain at least one disruption by a sequence not encoding a sequence solely composed of A residues.

Abstract: The present invention provides binding agents that contain n binding domain that is specific for CD3 allowing binding to T cells and a binding domain that is specific for a tumor-associated claudin molecule and methods of using these binding agents or nucleic acids encoding therefor for treating cancer.

Abstract: The present invention relates to methods and kits for the diagnosis, prognosis and/or monitoring of cancer in a patient. The present invention further relates to isolated peptides, panels of isolated peptides and diagnostic devices.

Abstract: The present invention relates to cytokine fusion proteins and to nucleic acid molecules encoding such cytokine fusion proteins. The present invention further relates to cells, non-human organisms, pharmaceutical compositions and kits comprising the cytokine fusion proteins or the nucleic acid molecules encoding them, as well as to their use as medicaments.

Abstract: The present invention provides methods for diagnosis or treatment of cancer diseases involving cancer stem cells comprising targeting CLDN6. In particular, the present invention provides a method of determining cancer stem cells comprising detecting cells expressing CLDN6, Furthermore, the present invention provides a method of treating or preventing cancer comprising inhibiting and/or eliminating cancer stem cells by administering an antibody having the ability of binding to CLDN6 to a cancer patient.

Abstract: The present invention provides antibodies useful as therapeutics for treating and/or preventing diseases associated with cells expressing GT468, including tumor-related diseases such as breast cancer, lung cancer, gastric cancer, ovarian cancer, hepatocellular cancer, colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, esophageal cancer, head & neck cancer, kidney cancer, in particular renal cell carcinoma, prostate cancer, liver cancer, melanoma, sarcoma, myeloma, neuroblastoma, placental choriocarcinoma, cervical cancer, and thyroid cancer, and the metastatic forms thereof. In one embodiment, the tumor disease is metastatic cancer in the lung.

Abstract: The present invention relates to tumor immunotherapy, in particular to tumor vaccination, using chimeric proteins comprising all or a portion of a hepatitis B virus core antigen protein and an amino acid sequence comprising an epitope derived from the extracellular portion of a tumor-associated antigen. In particular, the present invention provides virus-like particles comprising said chimeric proteins, which are useful for eliciting a humoral immune response in a subject against the tumor-associated antigen, in particular against cells carrying said tumor-associated antigen on their surface, wherein the tumor-associated antigen is a self-protein in said subject.

Abstract: The method comprises: the reverse transcription of the template RNA, the amplification and high-throughput sequencing of the cDNAs obtained in this way, the mapping of the sequenced cDNAs/reads to the reference genome using computerized alignment methods, a computerized evaluation of the mapping results with regard to the reverse transcription event pattern (the RT signature) at the nucleotide positions and feeding the digitalised data of the RT signatures into a computerized machine learning based classification system. Reverse transcription is carried out in parallel reaction batches with different reverse transcriptases and/or under different reaction conditions. The evaluation of the mapping results with regard to the RT signature is carried out using the events ‘arrest’ and/or ‘readthrough with mismatch’ and/or ‘readthrough with sequence gap(s)’. RT signature data obtained using the parallel reaction batches are fed into the classification system.