Imv Inc: What if the promise of cancer vaccines was finally realized?

IMV Inc. is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company based in Dartmouth, NS and Boston, MA. IMV is advancing a portfolio of immune-educating therapies based on its novel DPX® platform to treat solid and hematologic cancers without the well-known toxicities typically associated with cancer therapies. By generating educated immune cells that can elicit a specific, robust and sustained anti-tumor response to destroy cancer, IMV is dedicated to giving patients a chance to enjoy a long and healthy life. 

 

The physical chemical nature of the DPX delivery platform is different. It leverages a lipid vesicle formulation to retain therapeutic cargo at the site of injection, promoting prolonged interaction with antigen-presenting cells (APCs). Unlike traditional formulations, DPX prevents leaching into other tissues, allowing for optimal engagement of the immune system and more durable immune responses, which has been an issue of previous cancer vaccines. The therapeutic cargo packed into the DPX delivery system is actively taken up by the action of APCs only. APCs carry that cargo to the lymph nodes, mirroring the natural physiologic flow of antigens through the immune system.   

The DPX platform is versatile. Our current DPX-based candidates are packed with peptide antigens. But, from our preclinical studies, we can package multiple therapeutic cargo/antigens, including mRNAs, whole proteins, virus-like particles and other active molecules. 

The DPX-based products have also practical advantages. The platform allows a small, concentrated volume subcutaneous injection. Treatment can therefore be administered in a physician office. DPX-based products are also fully synthetic and easy to manufacture, have long-term stability and allow for scalable manufacturing due to simple supply chain management. 

IMV’s DPX technology has been tested in over 300 patients with advanced, recurrent or metastatic cancer in clinical trials and has shown promising efficacy with favorable safety profile and good tolerability. This is a repeatable plug-and-play model that IMV plans to capitalize to build a comprehensive pipeline of immune-educating therapies against cancer. 

 

IMV is leveraging its unique DPX® delivery platform to create immune-educating therapeutics in a way historical cancer vaccines have failed to do. 

 

IMV’s lead DPX-based immunotherapy, maveropepimut-S (MVP-S) provides the clinical and molecular proof of concept in multiple cancer indications. MVP-S works by targeting survivin, a well-known tumor-associated protein found to be overexpressed in more than 15 types of solid tumor and hematologic cancers. In MVP-S, survivin-targeted peptides delivered in DPX technology elicit a robust, persistent, specific immune response in a range of cancers, notably in patients who failed to benefit from prior lines of therapy which include checkpoint inhibitor single agent treatment1. Identical survivin peptides without DPX failed to drive clinical benefit or to consistently activate survivin-specific immunity2. Currently, MVP-S is being evaluated in ovarian cancer, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), metastatic bladder cancer, non-muscle invasive bladder cancer and breast cancer.  

IMV and its DPX platform are poised to create new possibilities in cancer vaccine development, with long-term benefits for people suffering from many different types of cancer with limited treatments available. 

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DPX’s mechanism of action video: https://youtu.be/Ub5Yuj-6010 

Website: https://www.imv-inc.com/   

Current trial in DLBCL : https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04920617   

Current trial in ovarian: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05243524   

        Article provided by IMV Inc.