CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vedantra Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an immunotherapy company focused on developing products to treat cancer and infectious disease, and Neon Therapeutics, an immuno-oncology company developing neoantigen-based therapeutic vaccines and T-cell therapies to treat cancer, announced today that the companies have extended their non-exclusive research alliance.
“Our albumin-binding amphiphile technologies have the potential to be effective at combating cancer by enhancing the body’s natural immune responses, and combining our efforts with Neon’s programs could have a significant impact on the development of impactful cancer therapies. Our partnership is aimed at exploring innovative ways to synergistically enhance both of our programs and we are enthusiastically extending the time frame on our research collaboration to continue this exciting work with Neon,” said Julian Adams, Ph.D., Executive Chairman of Vedantra.
Under the extended agreement, Vedantra and Neon will continue to build on research exploring the potential benefits of combining Vedantra’s cutting-edge, lymph node targeting amphiphile technology with Neon’s innovative capabilities in neoantigen vaccine research. The objective of the joint research collaboration is to develop novel cancer vaccine immunotherapies that raise immune responses against neoantigens and allow the body to naturally expand immune cells capable of destroying tumors without harming normal tissues.
“We are glad to extend our collaborative work with Vedantra,” said Hugh O’Dowd, President and Chief Executive Officer of Neon Therapeutics. “We are looking forward to building on positive initial data, and further exploring the potential of combining our amphiphile and neoantigen technologies.”
About Albumin-Binding, Lymph Node Targeting Amphiphile Technology
In
this era of neoantigen discovery, albumin-binding amphiphilic peptides
delivering a neoantigen payload directly to the lymph node provides a
natural setting for production of large quantities of T-cells
specifically trained to attack tumors by homing in on the presence of
specific neoantigens on the tumor cell surface. Recognition of the tumor
neoantigen stimulates the T-cell to kill the tumor cell. The process
starting with a defined neoantigen peptide is elegant in its simplicity.
It involves coupling a highly specific lipid construct to the neoantigen
in a single step. The resulting conjugate binds to albumin upon
injection, thus directly carrying the neoantigen to the lymph node where
T-cells are primed. Thus, unprecedented levels of poly-functional,
tumor-killing CD8 T-cells can now be achieved with peptidic neoantigens
coupled to amphiphilic components.
About Vedantra Pharmaceuticals
Vedantra Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. is an immunotherapy company developing products for cancer and
infectious diseases. Vedantra’s technologies enlist both antibody and
T-cell responses that impair and destroy pathogens before they can
replicate and cause serious damage in the body. Prophylactic vaccines
have been among the greatest achievements in human healthcare,
demonstrating the power of natural immune responses when focused on the
right targets. Vedantra builds upon advances in antibody and T-cell
therapies, using the body’s natural immune responses against defined
targets to create effective, durable and safe prophylactic and
therapeutic vaccines targeting endemic maladies. www.vedantra.com
About Neon Therapeutics
Neon Therapeutics is an
immuno-oncology company focused on developing novel therapeutics
leveraging neoantigen biology to treat cancer. A neoantigen-based
product engine allows Neon to develop multiple treatment modalities,
including next-generation vaccines and T-cell therapies targeting both
personal and shared neoantigens. Neon’s lead program is a personal
neoantigen vaccine that builds upon years of research and development at
the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute,
and is in multiple clinical trials. For more information, please visit www.neontherapeutics.com.
