Pasteur Fiocruz Center on I-I inaugurated in Ceará

Inaugurated last Friday (May 17), the Pasteur Fiocruz Center on Immunology and Immunotherapy, located at Fiocruz Ceará, brings together scientists from the France-based Institut Pasteur and Brazil’s Fiocruz, two members of the Pasteur Network, to develop an integrative approach towards immunotherapies applied to both infectious and non-communicable diseases.

This scientific cooperation aims to accelerate research in immunology and immunotherapy (I-I) at regional, national, and international levels. It counts on the support of the Ceará state government and the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, through its Embassy in Brasilia.

The Center has three priority scientific areas: cancer; infectious and neglected diseases; autoimmune, neurodegenerative and inflammatory diseases. Among the projects hosted by the Center are: the development of integrin inhibitors for treating neurodegenerative diseases; the development of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs); the development of nanobody/antibody fragments for neglected tropical diseases; CAR-T cells; and immunotherapies to enhance T cell functions to tackle infectious diseases.