REG - Scancell Hlds - Licenses Vaccitech technology to advance Modi-2

Scancell HoldingsAnnouncement

07/11/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 4381F  Scancell Holdings Plc  07 November 2022

7 November 2022

 

Scancell Holdings plc

("Scancell" or the "Company")

 

Scancell in-licenses Vaccitech technology to advance Modi-2 towards the clinic

 

SNAPvax™ technology to provide optimal method of formulation for Modi-2

 

Company expects to initiate a Phase 1 clinical study with Modi-2 in 2024

 

Scancell Holdings plc (AIM: SCLP), the developer of novel immunotherapies,
today announces it has in-licensed the SNAPvax™ technology from Vaccitech
plc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and
development of novel immunotherapies and vaccines. This agreement will allow
Scancell to formulate and manufacture Modi-2, with the aim of initiating a
Phase 1 clinical study in cancer patients in 2024.

 

Modi-2 is the second product from the Company's Moditope(®) platform, which
leverages the immune system to target a unique class of post-translational
modifications (PTMs) upregulated by many cancers. The SNAPvax™ technology
enables peptides to self-assemble with TLR-7/8a, a powerful adjuvant, to
promote strong T cell responses and is proven to successfully overcome
formulation issues associated with immunogenic peptide antigens, which are
often highly hydrophobic and prone to manufacturing challenges with
conventional formulations(1). Modi-2 will use SNAPvax™ to codeliver
homocitrullinated peptide antigens and TLR-7/8a adjuvants in self-assembling
nanoparticles designed to prime tumour killing T cells. The Company expects
that the combination of Scancell's Modi-2 with a highly effective platform for
inducing T cells (Vaccitech's SNAPvax™ technology) will lead to a
potentially superior therapeutic vaccine candidate.

 

Scancell's Moditope(®) platform also consists of Modi-1, which is currently
in a Phase 1 clinical study. Modi-1 targets citrullinated proteins, in
contrast to Modi-2 which targets homocitrullinated proteins.
Homocitrullination is a process that occurs by a different mechanism compared
to citrullination and is therefore applicable to a distinct set of highly
immune suppressed tumours. Scancell will leverage its deep understanding of T
cell immunology and cancer immunotherapy together with its strong development
capabilities to bring Modi-2 to clinical validation, adding value to the
entire Moditope(®) platform.

 

Prof Lindy Durrant, Chief Executive Officer, Scancell, commented: "We are
pleased to partner with Vaccitech to take the second candidate from our
Moditope(®) platform through GMP and subsequent clinical development. With
its elegant and effective solution, the SNAPvax™ technology provides an
excellent method for formulation of the Modi-2 vaccine. Combining this
technology with our expertise will allow us to develop a rapid manufacturing
process for Modi-2, with the hope that we can bring it into a Phase 1 clinical
study during 2024."

 

Dr Geoffrey Lynn, Senior Vice President of Synthetic Platforms at Vaccitech
commented: "We are delighted that Scancell has selected our
SNAPvax™technology for the development of their Modi-2 product. SNAPvax™
was developed to overcome the challenges of formulating and delivering PTMs
and ensure consistent formulations of any peptide antigens, for reliable T
cell priming. Our team is therefore keen to support the development of this
promising product with the hope that it will address immediate needs of cancer
patients and more broadly highlight the promise of targeting PTMs."

 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (MAR).

 

(1) - Lynn, G.M., Sedlik, C., Baharom, F. et al. Peptide-TLR-7/8a conjugate
vaccines chemically programmed for nanoparticle self-assembly enhance CD8
T-cell immunity to tumor antigens. Nature Biotechnology 38, 320-332 (2020).
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-019-0390-x
(https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-019-0390-x)

 

 For further information, please contact:

 Scancell Holdings plc                                                        +44 (0) 20 3727 1000
 Dr John Chiplin, Executive Chairman
 Professor Lindy Durrant, CEO

 Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Nominated Advisor and Joint Broker)          +44 (0) 20 7710 7600
 Nicholas Moore/Samira Essebiyea/William Palmer-Brown (Healthcare Investment
 Banking)
 Nick Adams/Nick Harland (Corporate Broking)

 Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited (Joint Broker)                                   +44 (0) 20 7886 2500
 Freddy Crossley/Emma Earl (Corporate Finance)
 Rupert Dearden (Corporate Broking)

 FTI Consulting                                                               +44 (0) 20 3727 1000
 Simon Conway/Rob Winder/Alex Davis

 

About Scancell

 

Scancell is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company that is leveraging its
proprietary research, built up over many years of studying the human adaptive
immune system, to generate novel medicines to treat significant unmet needs in
cancer and infectious disease. The Company is building a pipeline of
innovative products by utilising its four technology platforms: Moditope(®)
and ImmunoBody(®) for vaccines and GlyMab(®) and AvidiMab(®) for
antibodies.

 

Adaptive immune responses include antibodies and T cells (CD4 and CD8), both
of which can recognise damaged or infected cells. In order to destroy such
cancerous or infected cells, Scancell uses either vaccines to induce immune
responses or monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to redirect immune cells or drugs.
The Company's unique approach is that its innovative products target
modifications of proteins and lipids. For the vaccines (Moditope(®) and
ImmunoBody(®)) this includes citrullination and homocitrullination of
proteins, whereas its mAb portfolio targets glycans or sugars that are added
onto proteins and / or lipids (GlyMab(®)) or enhances the potency of
antibodies and their ability to directly kill tumour cells (AvidiMab(®)).

 

For further information about Scancell, please visit:
https://www.scancell.co.uk/ (https://www.scancell.co.uk/)

 

About Vaccitech

 

Vaccitech is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company engaged in the
discovery and development primarily of novel immunotherapies for the treatment
of chronic infectious diseases, cancer, autoimmunity and diseases where the T
cell arm of the immune system is believed to play an important role. The
company's proprietary platforms include modified simian adenoviral vectors
(ChAdOx1 and ChAdOx2), other viral vectors including the well-validated
Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) and synthetic nano-particle technologies
(SNAPvax™ and Syntholytic™). The combination of different technologies in
a mix and match approach (heterologous prime-boost) consistently generates
significantly higher magnitudes of T cells compared with other technologies
and approaches. The company has a broad pipeline of both clinical and
preclinical stage therapeutic programs to treat solid tumors, chronic viral
infections, as well as a few prophylactic viral vaccine programs. Vaccitech
co-invented a COVID-19 vaccine with the University of Oxford, now approved for
use in many territories and exclusively licensed worldwide to AstraZeneca
through Oxford University Innovation, or OUI. Vaccitech is entitled to receive
a share of all milestones and royalty income received by OUI from AstraZeneca.

 

For further information about Vaccitech, please visit:
https://vaccitech.co.uk/ (https://vaccitech.co.uk/)

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