On March 5, 2019 Transgene (Euronext Paris: TNG), a biotech company that designs and develops virus-based immunotherapies against cancers and infectious diseases, reported its decision to initiate clinical developments of its lead myvacTM candidate, TG4050, and the finalization of its collaboration agreement with NEC (Press release, Transgene, MAR 5, 2019, View Source [SID1234533977]). This product is designed and manufactured by Transgene using its proprietary platform myvacTM (*1) and integrating neoantigens selected by NEC’s Neoantigen Prediction System (*2).
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TG4050 capitalizes on the tremendous progress in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and on advances in genome sequencing to create an individualized immunotherapy, targeted to mutated antigens identified by sequencing and predicted to be relevant target by the NEC’s algorithm.
Transgene will be responsible for the clinical development and will sponsor two clinical studies starting in H2 2019:
A study in ovarian cancer patients after first line surgery and chemotherapy
A study in head and neck cancer patient after surgery and radiation therapy.
These studies, which will be co-financed by Transgene and NEC, will evaluate safety and immunogenicity of TG4050 and, pave the way for combination studies with different classes of therapies.
"Individualized vaccination is being increasingly perceived as a promising therapeutic modality to specifically activate the immune system to attack tumor cells. We are pleased, together with NEC, to be advancing in the clinic TG4050 in H2 2019. We are confident that this approach has the potential to transform the treatment of a broad range of solid tumors," said Éric Quéméneur, Pharm.D., Ph.D., Executive VP, Chief Scientific Officer of Transgene.
"Individualized immunotherapy is a breakthrough science which holds great promises to achieve clinical benefits for cancer patients. We are honored to partner with Transgene in the initiation of these clinical trials this year. The success of this product would create immense impact that could improve the quality of life for many cancer patients", commented Osamu Fujikawa, Senior Vice President, Business Innovation Unit, of NEC Corporation.
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Notes:
*1) myvac
myvacTM is a viral vector (MVA) based, individualized immunotherapy platform that has been developed by Transgene to target solid tumors. The myvacTM-derived products are designed to stimulate the patient’s immune system, recognize and destroy tumors using the patient’s 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.
*2) NEC’s Neoantigen Prediction System
NEC’s neoantigen prediction utilizes its proprietary AI, such as graph-based relational learning, which is combined with other sources of data to discover candidate neoantigen targets. NEC comprehensively evaluates the candidate neoantigens with a primary focus placed on its in-house MHC-binding affinity prediction. These allow NEC to effectively prioritize the numerous candidate neoantigens identified in a single patient.