OncoPep’s current clinical focus is to halt disease progression in Smoldering Multiple Myeloma (SMM), Multiple Myeloma (MM), and Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC). To attack these cancers, we are currently pursuing two approaches: Cancer Vaccines and Adoptive T Cell Therapies.
To better understand how our technologies work, it is helpful to first understand how the body uses the immune system to deal with cancers.
When the body is unsuccessful at ridding itself of cancer, a variety of therapies can be employed. Cancer vaccines are one of the treatment approaches OncoPep is currently investigating.
Vaccines work by harnessing the patient’s natural immune system to fight off their cancer. They are ready to use, off-the-shelf treatments that can be administered immediately. They can also have minimal side effects and can be used in combination with other anti-cancer agents. Our lead investigational vaccine, PVX-410, is currently in a Phase 2 clinical trial for TNBC.
PVX-410 has been investigated as a stand-alone therapy for SMM, and is currently being tested in combination with various drugs including the immunomodulatory agent lenalidomide, marketed commercially as Revlimid® by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.
OncoPep has recently initiated a Phase 2 study to evaluate the impact of PVX-410 on metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) in combination with the checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab, marketed under the brand name, Keytruda® by Merck, Inc.
• • •
Another way in which OncoPep is attacking cancer is through an ex vivo therapeutic approach called adoptive T cell therapy. This technology infuses a massive population of T cells that are highly specific to the patient’s cancer.
OncoPep licensed an autologous multi-tumor antigen adoptive T cell (MTAA) approach from MANA Therapeutics in 2020. MTAA leverages the patient’s immune system pathways to stimulate their T cells in order to target multiple antigens expressed by their tumors, without the need for genetic engineering. Targeting multiple tumor antigens at once may limit the opportunity for the tumor to “escape”, which can happen with many single-target therapies. The MTAA approach is designed to enable a broad, robust, and durable attack on the tumor, while limiting the toxicities associated with other cell, chemo, and radiation therapies that often result in severe and debilitating side effects for patients.
OncoPep is developing MTAA-420, a promising ex vivo therapy, as an immunotherapeutic for the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM).
• • •
OncoPep is currently developing new technologies to develop next generation versions of its vaccine. These technologies include novel vaccine delivery methods to improve antigen presentation and vaccines for a variety of HLA subtypes to address a wider population.
Additionally, OncoPep is actively exploring expansion our pipeline through a number of collaborations with academic institutions and commercial partnerships.
