Novartis (VTX: NOVN) has teamed up with scientists from the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to develop biomaterial systems for its immuno-oncology therapies portfolio, the company disclosed on Tuesday.

The licensed biomaterial systems will aim to overcome barriers hampering traditional cancer vaccines. This includes their limited duration of action and lack of targeting to specific cancer cells.

Researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), the Wyss Institute, and Dana-Farber have developed biomaterial systems aimed to provide sustained delivery of immunotherapies and target specific types of cancer. Novartis will further collaborate with the Wyss Institute team to advance their development.

The implantable and injectable systems are made of biodegradable materials assembled into porous, three-dimensional structures. While they are yet to be proven in human clinical trials, they have a lot of potential as they are able to serve as engineered microenvironments to educate the immune system about cancer and initiate immune responses against tumours over a sustained period of time.

Harvard University, Dana-Farber and the University of Michigan will own or co-own the technologies licensed under this agreement for target-specific applications.