On May 11, 2018 Advaxis, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADXS), a late-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of immunotherapy products, reported on recently presented preclinical data demonstrating the anti-cancer potential of their Lm vector that presents tumor neoantigens, and is being evaluated in the ADXS-NEO program (Press release, Advaxis, MAY 11, 2018, View Source [SID1234526525]). ADXS-NEO is derived from the Company’s proprietary Lm Technology and is being developed in partnership with Amgen.
Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:
Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing
Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!
These preclinical findings were discussed in poster presentations at the recent American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting. Additionally, portions of these data were presented by Amgen at a podium presentation during the European Neoantigen Summit 2018.
The first study, as discussed in a poster presentation at AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) entitled "Neoantigens that fail to elicit measurable T cell responses following peptide immunization can control tumor growth when delivered using a Listeria-based immunotherapy platform," showed that ADXS-NEO generates T cell responses against neoantigen peptides that control tumor growth, even when they were identified as "non-immunogenic" using a conventional peptide-adjuvant immunization. The poster is available here: View Source
In the second study, discussed in a poster presentation at AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) entitled "Targeting frameshift mutations with a Listeria monocytogenes immunotherapy drives neoantigen-specific antitumor immunity in MC38 and CT26 mouse tumor models," Advaxis’ Lm platform was shown to target frameshift mutations and generate T cells to multiple neoantigens per frameshift in MC38 and CT26 mouse tumor models. The poster is available here: View Source
"The results of these studies highlight the therapeutic potential of targeting neoantigens and suggest that ADXS-NEO could impact the way we approach treatment across a range of cancers," said Ken Berlin, President and CEO of Advaxis. "We look forward to our continued collaboration with Amgen, and to moving into the clinic with this product candidate."
"These preclinical findings provide foundational rationale suggesting that ADXS-NEO has the potential to generate immune responses against multiple neoantigens with the ability to control tumor growth. This is a personalized approach that uses a patient’s own immune system to recognize and eliminate cancer cells harboring multiple mutations that caused their malignancy," said Robert G. Petit, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President of Advaxis. "We also saw potent immune responses targeting frameshift mutations and control of tumor growth via multiple complementary mechanisms. This is important because frameshift mutations are observed to generate up to nine times more neoantigens per mutation than in-frame mutations" according to Turajlic, et al.
About ADXS-NEO
ADXS-NEO is a personalized Listeria monocytogenes (Lm)-based immunotherapy designed to generate immune response against mutation-derived tumor-specific neoantigens. The program focuses on creating a customized treatment with neoantigens specifically selected based on a biopsy of the patient’s tumor. The approach enables the development of tailored immune-therapies. ADXS-NEO is being evaluated in collaboration with Amgen.