On March 5, 2024 Transgene (Euronext Paris: TNG), a biotech company that designs and develops virus-based immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer, NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701), a leader in IT, network and AI technologies and BostonGene Corporation (BostonGene), a leading company in AI-based molecular and immune profiling, reported the expansion of their collaboration for the randomized Phase I/II trial of TG4050, an individualized therapeutic vaccine for patients with head and neck cancers (Press release, NEC, MAR 5, 2024, View Source [SID1234640734]).
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BostonGene is partnering with NEC and Transgene to continue performing tumor molecular profiling and microenvironment analysis and provide high-throughput sequencing services. The partnership with BostonGene will enable fast turnaround of next-generation sequencing (NGS) data, and sophisticated analytics will enable comprehensive profiling of patient immune contexture.
TG4050, a personalized immunotherapy designed to stimulate the immune system of patients to induce a neoantigen specific T-cell response that can recognize and destroy tumor cells, is based on Transgene’s myvac platform and powered by NEC’s AI-driven Neoantigen Prediction System.
"Our collaboration with BostonGene has provided in-depth information on patient phenotypes in the Phase I trial. It has allowed us to understand the baseline status of our patients and how the tumor micro-environment (TME) might evolve following treatment," said Dr. Alessandro Riva, Chairman and CEO of Transgene.
"The combined expertise of Transgene, NEC and BostonGene will continue to provide a streamlined pipeline for the timely delivery of patient-tailored vaccines as well as data to guide the future development of new personalized treatment options, elevating the standard of care for head and neck cancer patients," said Masamitsu Kitase, Corporate SVP and Head of the Healthcare and Life Sciences Division at NEC Corporation.
"We are committed to supporting Transgene and NEC as they advance these clinical trials," said Nathan Fowler, MD, Chief Medical Officer at BostonGene. "Our molecular and immune profiling techniques comprehensively analyze the tumor, microenvironment, and immune system to identify key predictors of response to TG4050, ultimately improving treatment outcomes."
About myvac
myvac is a viral vector (MVA – Modified Vaccinia Ankara) based, individualized immunotherapy platform that has been developed by Transgene to target solid tumors. myvac-derived products are designed to stimulate the patient’s immune system to recognize and destroy tumors using their own cancer specific genetic mutations. Transgene has set up an innovative network that combines bioengineering, digital transformation, established vectorization know-how and unique manufacturing capabilities. Transgene has been awarded "Investment for the Future" funding from Bpifrance for the development of its platform myvac. TG4050 is the first myvac-derived product being evaluated in clinical trials.
About TG4050
TG4050 is an individualized immunotherapy being developed for solid tumors that is based on Transgene’s myvac technology and powered by NEC’s longstanding artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) expertise. This virus-based therapeutic vaccine encodes neoantigens (patient-specific mutations) identified and selected by NEC’s Neoantigen Prediction System. The prediction system is based on more than two decades of expertise in AI and has been trained on proprietary data allowing it to accurately prioritize and select the most immunogenic sequences.
TG4050 is designed to stimulate the immune system of patients in order to induce a T-cell response that is able to recognize and destroy tumor cells based on their own neoantigens. This individualized immunotherapy is developed and produced for each patient.
Initial immunological and clinical data from the ongoing Phase I trial in the adjuvant treatment of HPV-negative head and neck cancers were presented at several conferences in 2023 and are very encouraging.