Pepscan continues to supply personalized peptide pools for Evaxion's upcoming phase IIb trial after successful completion of phase I/IIa

LELYSTAD, the Netherlands, March 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pepscan, the all-in-one peptide service provider with proprietary constraining technologies, is excited to announce that its specialists will manufacture the personalized peptide pools for the treatment of cancer patients in Evaxion's phase IIb trial. Evaxion Biotech, a clinical-stage biotechnology company specializing in the development of AI-driven immunotherapies to improve the lives of patients with cancer and infectious diseases, recently published the initial results of the peptide-based personalized therapy EVX-01 in patients with metastatic melanoma in the open access, peer-reviewed journal OncoImmunology. Pepscan had provided the personalized peptide pools for its phase I/IIa trial. The Denmark-based biotechnology company is currently preparing its phase IIb study, which is expected to start in 2022 at various sites in Europe, the US and Australia.

"We are very excited to learn that the personalized peptides we manufactured for Evaxion have induced positive effects in cancer patients treated in the clinic. We consider our collaboration with Evaxion to be a perfect example of how combining Evaxion's expertise in the development of AI-driven immunotherapies and Pepscan's track record in the reliable supply of personalized peptide pools brings us closer to potential life-improving breakthroughs," says Hans de Backer, CEO of Pepscan. "We are very pleased to continue to work with Evaxion on the next phase of its clinical journey."

The paper, entitled "Personalized therapy with peptide-based neoantigen vaccine (EVX-01) including a novel adjuvant, CAF^®09b, in patients with metastatic melanoma", outlines results from the phase I/IIa trial of EVX-01, a novel personalized cancer immunotherapy based on Evaxion's proprietary PIONEER^™ AI technology. Results from five patients in the study demonstrated that EVX-01 is safe and has encouraging early indications of clinically meaningful antitumor activity. Evaxion's planned phase IIb study will evaluate the efficacy and safety of EVX-01 in combination with KEYTRUDA^® (pembrolizumab), an anti-PD1 therapy, in approximately 100 adults naïve to checkpoint inhibitor treatment with unresectable or metastatic melanoma, with overall response as the primary endpoint.

Manufacturing personalized peptides for neoantigen vaccines requires a very specific set of process development and manufacturing skills, facilities, and analytical methods. With 25 years of experience in mastering peptides and flexible manufacturing capabilities, Pepscan reliably delivers individual or pooled peptide sets that fit its customers' timelines.

About Pepscan

Pepscan is an all-in-one partner in peptides, building on 25 years of experience in advancing and applying peptide expertise to facilitate customers in the development and production of peptides. At its end-to-end facility in Lelystad, the Netherlands, Pepscan offers a range of patented technologies, phage display capabilities, a lead-optimization array platform, and production facilities for R&D- to GMP-grade peptides, including libraries and neoantigen vaccines. Among its patents is the CLIPS™ technology, which locks peptides into active conformations. With its epitope mapping service platform, Pepscan also supports biotech companies in developing their antibody pipelines. The underlying protein mimicry platform delivers binding insights, even in cases where other technologies fall short.

Preparing neoantigen peptides demands the highest level of care and reliability in terms of tailoring to the patient's specifications and timely delivery for their care. Owing to our thorough expertise in peptide chemistry and our role as critical partner in multiple clinical trial projects, Pepscan knows what it takes to be a world-class partner in this field.

Contact information: Evert van Dijk, CCO, +31 320 225 300, [email protected]

SOURCE Pepscan