Sheba and Vidac Pharma Partner to Overcome the Warburg Effect

While many patients already benefit from the life-changing effects of the treatment, not all of those treated prove responsive. A predominant obstacle is the Warburg effect, which causes hyperglycolysis in the tumor microenvironment (TME), creating less than favorable conditions for CAR T-cell therapy to be effective.

As part of Sheba’s ongoing commitment to advancing oncological research and care, we are pleased to partner with Vidac Pharma to evaluate a new drug that could potentially reverse the Warburg effect, preventing its lactate-producing hyperglycolysis from negatively affecting the efficacy of CAR T-cell therapy.

The new study will be headed by Dr. Elad Jacoby, Head of Pediatric Cell Therapy at Sheba’s Safra Children’s Hospital, and Dr. Yuval Sagiv, CTO of Vidac.

CEO of Vidac Pharma

According to Dr. Max Herzberg, Chairman and CEO of Vidac Pharma: “The preliminary results obtained by the two groups justify further investigation, and we are pleased to have the support of such a great group of scientists in the best possible research and medical environment as exist in Sheba.”

This important collaboration may offer new hope to blood cancer patients treated at Sheba and across the globe, and we look forward to reviewing the findings in the near future.