Thirteen undergraduate students from the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology formed the first team in Hong Kong Polytechnic University called PolYneer made history by winning a prestigious silver medal alongside top universities at the 2023 International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition held in Paris, France from November 2-5 .
iGEM is a prestigious international synthetic biology event that attracts over 6,000 participants worldwide, including undergraduate college students, graduates, and high school students from 40 countries. The team "PolYneer" combines “PolyU” and "Pioneer", representing the team as the first ever team from PolyU and their mission to pioneer new solutions. While the capital Y illustrates their research topic of developing novel bispecific antibody to address a critical issue in the treatment of osimertinib-resistant non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). Osimertinib is the first-line targeted therapy for NSCLC patients with EGFR mutations, yet it is often accompanied by likelihood of resistance development.
To overcome this resistance, the team created an award-winning peptide-based bispecific antibody called Polyneerab, which simultaneously binds to both EGFR and c-MET on cell surface. Polyneerab demonstrated a profound effect on the suppression of cell growth in osimertinib-refractory NSCLC cells in combination with osimertinib treatment. Our novel approach also overcomes the shortcomings of traditional bispecific antibodies, including the complex production process and high production costs. The innovative potential of Polyneerab was evidenced by the team's prior acquisition of a Team Impact Grant in July during the same competition. In the Hackathon competition in the same event, two members of the PolYneer team showcased their exceptional skills in computer coding design, and were subsequently chosen as one of the top three finalists.
The ambition of PolYneer is to discover a cost-effective solution that can help combat the therapeutic resistance of NSCLC patients in the hope of improving their treatment outcomes. Throughout the competition, PolYneer actively participated in several outreach initiatives, including online surveys to raise awareness of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in Hong Kong and a T-shirt sales campaign to support the Hong Kong Cancer Fund. The PolYneer team exemplified PolyU's ethos of "Opening Minds, Shaping the Future", making breakthroughs for NSCLC treatment and elevating cancer knowledge in their local community. Their receipt of a silver medal at the prestigious iGEM competition highlights Hong Kong's growing stature as a leader in biotechnology innovation and underscores the tremendous potential of the next generation of researchers to develop solutions that can benefit public health worldwide.
香港理工大學首支iGem團隊創歷史 榮獲銀牌
由應用生物及化學科技學系的十三名本科生組成的香港理工大學首支團隊PolYneer，於2023年11月2日至5日在法國巴黎舉辦的國際基因工程機器International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM)競賽中比賽中與耶魯大學、牛津大學、麻省理工學院等頂尖大學一起奪得銀牌，創下歷史。
iGEM是一項聲譽卓著的國際合成生物學賽事，吸引了來自全球40多個國家的超過6,000名參賽者，包括本科生、研究生和高中生。團隊"PolYneer"結合了“PolyU”和“Pioneer”的概念，代表著理大的首支隊伍，及其開創新解決方案的使命。大寫的Y展示了他們的研究主題，即開發新型雙特異性抗體，以解決治療奧希替尼(osimertinib)耐藥性非小細胞肺癌(NSCLC)。奧希替尼是帶有EGFR突變的NSCLC患者的一線靶向治療藥物，但很容易產生耐藥性。
為了克服這種耐藥性，團隊創造了一種獲獎的基於多肽的雙特異性抗體Polyneerab，能同時與細胞表面的EGFR和c-MET結合。Polyneerab在與奧希替尼治療結合使用時，對抑制奧希替尼耐藥性NSCLC細胞的生長表現出深刻的效果。我們的新方法還克服了傳統雙特異性抗體的缺點，包括複雜的生產過程和高昂的生產成本。Polyneerab的創新潛力在同一賽事7月份獲得Team Impact Grant。在同一賽事的Hackathon競賽中，PolYneer團隊的兩名成員展示了他們在計算機編碼設計方面的卓越技能，隨後被選為前三強的得奬者。
PolYneer的抱負是用他們的高成本效益解決方案合成多肽雙特異性抗體，幫助對抗NSCLC患者的治療耐藥性，希望改善他們的治療結果。在整個比賽過程中，PolYneer積極參與了多項外展活動，包括在香港進行線上調查，提高對非小細胞肺癌(NSCLC)的認識，以及銷售T恤衫以支持香港癌症基金會。PolYneer團隊體現了理工大學“啟迪思維• 成就未來”的精神，為NSCLC治療取得突破，提升了本地社區對癌症的認識。他們在聲譽卓著的iGEM比賽中獲得銀牌，凸顯了香港在生物技術創新領域日益增長的地位，並突顯了下一代研究人員開發對全球公共衛生有益解決方案的巨大潛力。
