- Data from three trials of UV1 show dynamic T cell responses, lasting up to 7.5 years
- UV1-specific immune responses associated with longer clinical survival
- Synergy between UV1 vaccination and checkpoint inhibition
Oslo, 25 May 2022: Ultimovacs ASA (“Ultimovacs”) (OSE ULTI), a clinical stage leader in immune stimulatory vaccines for cancer, announced the publication of long-term follow-up data on UV1 in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (JITC). The data show that dynamic UV1 specific immune responses last up to 7.5 years, are associated with longer survival and are enhanced when UV1 is used in combinations with checkpoint inhibitors.
“It is important to be able to share this validating data with our research and clinical colleagues through JITC. The data demonstrate highly durable UV1-induced immune responses that are associated with substantially longer overall survival and boosted by checkpoint inhibitors. This is strong support for Ultimovacs’ broad Phase II program combining UV1 with checkpoint inhibitors across five different cancer indications,” said Carlos de Sousa, Chief Executive Officer of Ultimovacs.
The Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer is the peer-reviewed open access journal of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer. Ultimovacs’ paper in JITC reports data from three Phase I/IIa clinical trials on Ultimovacs’ cancer vaccine lead UV1 in three separate cancer indications – malignant melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and prostate cancer.
The data demonstrate that UV1 vaccination leads to dynamic immune responses in patients, notably the induction of memory T cells with a cytokine profile involving the production of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha. Furthermore, the paper demonstrates the development of a UV1-specific immune response associated with longer survival time across the three cancer types.
Adding checkpoint inhibitors boosts the potentially protective UV1 response. UV1-specific immune responses occurred earlier and more frequently in patients with malignant melanoma, where UV1 was combined with the checkpoint inhibitor ipilimumab, than in patients with NSCLC or prostate cancer where no checkpoint inhibitor was involved. Around 91% of patients with malignant melanoma showed a detectable immune response within three months.
The JITC paper is available at the JITC website: “Ellingsen EB, Aamdal E, Guren T, et al. Durable and dynamic hTERT immune responses following vaccination with the long-peptide cancer vaccine UV1: long-term follow-up of three phase I clinical trials. Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer 2022;0:e004345. doi:10.1136/jitc-2021-004345.
The data was also presented as a poster at the Cancer Immunotherapy (CIMT) annual meeting in Mainz, Germany, 10-12 May 2022. The JITC paper and the CIMT poster can be found on the Company website.
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About Ultimovacs
Ultimovacs is an immunotherapy company developing immune-stimulatory vaccines to treat a broad range of cancers. Ultimovacs’ lead universal cancer vaccine candidate UV1 targets human telomerase (hTERT), present in 85-90% of cancers in all stages of tumor growth. By directing the immune system to hTERT antigens, UV1 drives CD4 helper T cells to the tumor to activate an immune system cascade and increase anti-tumor responses. With a broad Phase II program in five cancer indications enrolling more than 650 patients, Ultimovacs aims to clinically demonstrate UV1’s impact in multiple cancer types, in combination with other immunotherapies, for patients with unmet needs. Ultimovacs’ second technology approach, based on the proprietary Tetanus-Epitope-Targeting (TET) platform, combines tumor-specific peptides and adjuvant in the same molecule and entered Phase I studies in 2021.
For further information, please see www.ultimovacs.com or contact:
Carlos de Sousa, CEO
Email: carlos.desousa@ultimovacs.com
Phone: +47 908 92507
Anne Worsøe, Head of IR & Communication
Email: anne.worsoe@ultimovacs.com
Phone: +47 90686815
Mary-Ann Chang, LifeSci Advisors
Email: mchang@lifesciadvisors.com
Phone: +44 7483 284 853
This information is considered to be inside information pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 in the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
This stock exchange announcement was published by Joachim Midttun, Finance Manager at Ultimovacs ASA, on 25 May, 2022 at 18:45 CET.
