Sirpa and Markku Jalkanen met just after high school and bonded over their interests in science and medicine, which led to a passion for immunology and identifying ways to harness the body’s immune system to fight cancer. They have both clearly made their marks in research, business, and academia, and are fixtures at the Turku Bioscience Centre in Turku, Finland.

The thirst for knowledge is wired into them they say. “We are both curious and we love to learn every single day, which is one of the fundamental characteristics scientists need to have,” notes Markku Jalkanen. 

“Maybe we can get them to behave”

For decades, the Jalkanens’ research has focused on immune cells and how they can differentiate between normal and cancerous tissues. “This is very important because cancer can train immune cells to be suppressive, so instead of fighting the cancer, they allow it to grow,” explains Sirpa Jalkanen.

Their work there keeps attracting recognition, most recently last year when they, and Faron, were finalists in the European Inventor Award contest in the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) category.

The other critical part of their work is using immunotherapy to fight cancer. For the past few decades much of that work has been done at Faron Pharmaceuticals, the company they co-founded in 2003. Their work there keeps attracting recognition, most recently last year when they, and Faron, were finalists in the European Inventor Award contest in the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) category. Faron was cited for a bexmarilimab (also known as Clevegen), a precision cancer immunotherapy candidate. The treatment was developed to fight two types of blood cancer, myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome, which have resisted other protocols, and clinical tests have shown encouraging results.

Sirpa Jalkanen and Markku Jalkanen were nominated for the European Inventor Award 2024 in the category SMEs. Photo: Henri Vogt/European Patent Office

Called the CLEVER approach, “myeloid cells are reprogrammed to activate anti-tumor immunity in hematological and solid tumor micro-environments,” according to the company. Trials have shown a 50% remission rate in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) that had not responded to other therapies. Updated data has also shown a higher response rate of 87.5% and a long-lasting reduction of cancer cells in patients for whom chemotherapy had already failed.

“We have studied how cells changed their behavior, how cancer cells can escape control,” Markku says in explaining their approach. “If we can understand how they changed behavior, maybe we can get them to behave.”

Their careers took a turn

Before their passion took hold, Sirpa practiced medicine and Markku was working in the biopharmaceutical industry, as well as in the fields of biomedical research and biotechnology development. Their careers took a turn after enrolling at Stanford University in the U.S. for post-doctoral work.

“When I was doing my Ph.D., I realized I wanted to do something significant, so we went to Stanford,” says Markku. “There I was able to learn about cloning.”

And Sirpa discovered that she loved working in a lab. “I got so interested in research that I didn’t go back to being a clinician,” she says.

I know how disease develops, which makes me do more meaningful research and I am able to spot unmet needs.

Her experience as a physician, though, reminds her why she spends so many hours in a lab. “I understand what is relevant for the patient,” continues Sirpa. “I know how disease develops, which makes me do more meaningful research and I am able to spot unmet needs. My medical training motivates me to do something useful for the patients.”

During their three years at Stanford the Jalkanens learned about new areas and methods of research, and when they returned to Finland, they each focused on their areas of interest, collaborating from time to time. “We combined our strengths to find new cancer treatments,” says Sirpa.

Her research team discovered a new target molecule that is important for controlling inflammation and the spread of cancer, and Markku was recruited to create a core facility for life scientists – a joint effort of the Finnish language University of Turku and the Swedish language Åbo Akademi University.

Sirpa Jalkanen and Markku Jalkanen. Photo: Henri Vogt/European Patent Office

Offices in separate rooms

While their partnership is solid at home and in the lab, Sirpa jokes that it has been nice to have separate offices. “He is so tidy,” she says, while she herself tends to grow piles of papers. Their home is quite orderly however, she adds, mostly due to her husband’s influence. “But she is very tidy when it comes to keeping track of her research,” Markku notes. “And Sirpa always had twice the work during our careers, since she also took care of the children and managed the home.”

“This is not entirely true, as Markku has always been a great help.  Having originally grown up in a farmhouse, he has learned to fix almost anything,” adds Sirpa.

Now retired after devoting more than 40 years to scientific inquiry, Markku is writing a book about his research and enjoys his new schedule. “I like not having so many meetings on the calendar,” he says.

Sirpa and her team are still at work on biomedical and clinical medicine at the University of Turku, focusing on mediating cell trafficking in harmful inflammations and cancer.  She is beginning to wrap up some projects or pass them on to younger colleagues, though. For the past few years, her team has been concentrating on breast cancer, more specifically, how to prevent it becoming metastatic breast cancer. They are studying how breast cancer modifies lymph nodes and spreads into them.

She has also been Academy Professor and Professor of Immunology at the University of Turku’s Medical Faculty and the Director of the MediCity Research Laboratory, which is the research unit of the Medical faculty at the University of Turku.

In addition, she is also one of the 13 Finnish Academicians nominated by the President of Finland. She is currently leading the national flagship project InFLAMES, developing new diagnostics and drugs based on top-level immunological research.

Increasing Finland’s visibility

While scientists have deepened their knowledge about the complex functioning of the immune system, so many things still remain unknown, Sirpa notes.

The whole immune system is not fully understood, says Markku, and a greater understanding could lead to better treatments for cancer and other diseases. “There are times when the immune system needs to be activated immediately or reactivated. We need to learn to control the immune system,” he says. “That’s a challenge.”

I have seen what it takes to build a company, there are no significant life science investors in Finland.

Also discovering why immunity decreases as people age could help scientists identify ways to prevent the decline, he notes.

The Jalkanens. Photo: Henri Vogt/European Patent Office

Immunology research has emerged as one of Finland’s strengths. Almost one third of the industry in Turku is based on life science activities, but getting products onto the market has proven harder.

“Other countries that are about the same size as Finland, for example, Denmark, sell many more drugs,” Sirpa notes. “We have a long way to go before reaching the top.”

They both hope to help increase Finland’s visibility on the international scene.

Securing funds for life science research also remains challenging in Finland according to the Jalkanens. “I have seen what it takes to build a company, there are no significant life science investors in Finland,” Markku says.

A science family

When this couple is not hard at work, they like to relax outdoors, ice skating and cross-country skiing in the winter and swimming and biking in the summer. Their grandchildren are also filling many of the empty spots on Markku’s calendar. The Jalkanens have three children and 11 grandchildren. “Markku is the taxi driver for the grandchildren,” Sirpa jokes.

You have always been so excited, and it seemed like you were having so much fun, that it seemed like great profession to have.

All their children have followed them into the sciences. Their son, who is a surgeon, is now Faron’s Chief Executive Officer. Their older daughter is a doctor who treats cancer, and their younger daughter is a researcher.

When Sirpa once asked her children what inspired them to pursue science they said, “You have always been so excited, and it seemed like you were having so much fun, that it seemed like great profession to have.”