Vedantra Pharmaceuticals Extends Research Collaboration with Neon Therapeutics to Develop Novel Cancer Immunotherapies

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--()--Vedantra Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an immunotherapy company focused on developing products to treat cancer and infectious disease, and Neon Therapeutics, an immuno-oncology company developing neoantigen-based therapeutic vaccines and T-cell therapies to treat cancer, announced today that the companies have extended their non-exclusive research alliance.

“Our albumin-binding amphiphile technologies have the potential to be effective at combating cancer by enhancing the body’s natural immune responses, and combining our efforts with Neon’s programs could have a significant impact on the development of impactful cancer therapies. Our partnership is aimed at exploring innovative ways to synergistically enhance both of our programs and we are enthusiastically extending the time frame on our research collaboration to continue this exciting work with Neon,” said Julian Adams, Ph.D., Executive Chairman of Vedantra.

Under the extended agreement, Vedantra and Neon will continue to build on research exploring the potential benefits of combining Vedantra’s cutting-edge, lymph node targeting amphiphile technology with Neon’s innovative capabilities in neoantigen vaccine research. The objective of the joint research collaboration is to develop novel cancer vaccine immunotherapies that raise immune responses against neoantigens and allow the body to naturally expand immune cells capable of destroying tumors without harming normal tissues.

“We are glad to extend our collaborative work with Vedantra,” said Hugh O’Dowd, President and Chief Executive Officer of Neon Therapeutics. “We are looking forward to building on positive initial data, and further exploring the potential of combining our amphiphile and neoantigen technologies.”

About Albumin-Binding, Lymph Node Targeting Amphiphile Technology
In this era of neoantigen discovery, albumin-binding amphiphilic peptides delivering a neoantigen payload directly to the lymph node provides a natural setting for production of large quantities of T-cells specifically trained to attack tumors by homing in on the presence of specific neoantigens on the tumor cell surface. Recognition of the tumor neoantigen stimulates the T-cell to kill the tumor cell. The process starting with a defined neoantigen peptide is elegant in its simplicity. It involves coupling a highly specific lipid construct to the neoantigen in a single step. The resulting conjugate binds to albumin upon injection, thus directly carrying the neoantigen to the lymph node where T-cells are primed. Thus, unprecedented levels of poly-functional, tumor-killing CD8 T-cells can now be achieved with peptidic neoantigens coupled to amphiphilic components.

About Vedantra Pharmaceuticals
Vedantra Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an immunotherapy company developing products for cancer and infectious diseases. Vedantra’s technologies enlist both antibody and T-cell responses that impair and destroy pathogens before they can replicate and cause serious damage in the body. Prophylactic vaccines have been among the greatest achievements in human healthcare, demonstrating the power of natural immune responses when focused on the right targets. Vedantra builds upon advances in antibody and T-cell therapies, using the body’s natural immune responses against defined targets to create effective, durable and safe prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines targeting endemic maladies. www.vedantra.com

About Neon Therapeutics
Neon Therapeutics is an immuno-oncology company focused on developing novel therapeutics leveraging neoantigen biology to treat cancer. A neoantigen-based product engine allows Neon to develop multiple treatment modalities, including next-generation vaccines and T-cell therapies targeting both personal and shared neoantigens. Neon’s lead program is a personal neoantigen vaccine that builds upon years of research and development at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and is in multiple clinical trials. For more information, please visit www.neontherapeutics.com.

Contacts

Vedantra Media Contact:
MacDougall Biomedical Communications
Stefanie Tuck, 781-235-3060
stuck@macbiocom.com
or
Neon Media Contact:
Ten Bridge Communications
Dan Quinn, 781-475-7974
dan@tenbridgecommunications.com

Release Summary

Vedantra Pharmaceuticals Extends Research Collaboration with Neon Therapeutics to Develop Novel Cancer Immunotherapies.

Contacts

Vedantra Media Contact:
MacDougall Biomedical Communications
Stefanie Tuck, 781-235-3060
stuck@macbiocom.com
or
Neon Media Contact:
Ten Bridge Communications
Dan Quinn, 781-475-7974
dan@tenbridgecommunications.com