Publication in Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics
highlights progress in understanding tumour biology and vaccine
technologies since the pandemic
OXFORD,
England, May 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Infinitopes
Precision Immunomics, an integrated cancer biotech combining world
leading platforms in precision antigen discovery with vaccine
vectors capable of durably stimulating protective immune responses,
today announced the publication of a peer-reviewed article
in Human Vaccines
& Immunotherapeutics (HVI). The article
outlines the current cancer vaccine landscape and the challenges
facing vaccine technologies for the treatment of solid tumours to
explain the advantages of Infinitopes' combined approach to cancer
vaccines: incorporating the right targets and the right vectors,
for the right patients at the right time.
The review, entitled "Unlocking Cancer Vaccine
Potential: What are the Key Factors?", was an invited
contribution from the editorial team at HVI for inclusion
in their special edition on cancer vaccines. The Company
co-authored the review in close collaboration with senior academics
from the University of Oxford's cancer
vaccine programme. The article describes the history of cancer
vaccine development, the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on
vaccine immunology, and the hurdles that face the successful
clinical development of vaccines within the solid tumour space.
Limited understanding of tumour biology has historically been a
major obstacle to progress in cancer vaccine development. Following
the announcement of its £12.8m seed funding round in April 2024, Infinitopes is investing in
world-leading mass spectrometry equipment to accurately identify
the best synergistic tumour targets. This will enable the company
to expand the development of its precision-targeted cancer vaccines
for five further cancers beyond its lead candidate, which is due to
begin phase I/IIa later this year.
Dr Jonathan Kwok, Infinitopes
CEO, commented: "Infinitopes' team has amassed an enormous
wealth of insight into the fundamental immunology required to
develop effective cancer vaccines. Over the past decade, we have
crystallised our understanding of the building blocks necessary to
design precision-targeted, durably stimulating, affordable vaccine
therapies. It's an honour to be invited to share our learnings with
readers of the prestigious Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics
journal, and we look forward to the future collaborations this will
unlock."
Lead author Dr Michael Grant,
Executive Medical Director of Infinitopes,
commented: "The global burden of cancer is increasing,
whilst advances in diagnosis and shifts in lifestyle factors are
changing the demographics of patients that we see in clinic. There
is a growing need for cost-effective treatments that can be
deployed in the earlier stages of disease. Cancer vaccines offer a
potential solution to this and, in the past few years alone, we
have begun to see some exciting results from different vaccine
platforms. However, it is vital that we learn from previous
failures – as well as recent successes – to optimise the clinical
development of future cancer vaccines."
Professor Mark Middleton, Head
of the Department of Oncology at the University of Oxford and Scientific Advisory Board
member for Infinitopes, added: "As we detect cancers
earlier, we need treatments that are cheaper and better tolerated
than existing drugs, and cancer vaccines look very promising.
Recent trial results show that they work, and they are
relatively cheap to make at scale. The challenge now is to
understand the rules that govern vaccine activity, so we can give
them to the right patients at the right time."
"Unlocking Cancer Vaccine Potential: What are the Key
Factors?" is available to read online at:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21645515.2024.2331486
Notes to editors
About Infinitopes
Infinitopes Ltd is a soon to be clinical stage, integrated
cancer biotechnology company supported by Cancer Research UK (CRUK)
and the University of Oxford. The
Company combines two world leading platforms, in precision antigen
discovery and in high efficiency, vector delivery systems, to
develop immunologically durable vaccines for use against multiple
solid tumour indications. The lead vaccine candidate is expected to
begin phase I/IIa trials in Q3 2024. Infinitopes has cultivated
in-house talent across antigen discovery, immunology, vaccinology,
oncology, biomanufacturing, trials and regulation, winning an
'Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway' (ILAP) innovation
passport from the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory
Agency (MHRA) in 2022. Infinitopes has also won two prestigious,
maximum size nondilutive awards from Innovate UK, a Cancer
Therapeutics Award (in 2022) and a Future Economy Investor
Partnership (in 2023). In 2024, the company closed its £12.8 m seed
financing. Since incorporation, the Infinitopes team has grown from
three co-founders to 28 full time equivalents, and is now the
largest tenant of Oxford University's
BioEscalator Innovation Building. For more information, visit
www.infinitopes.com
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SOURCE Infinitopes