Vaxon Biotech Granted new Patent in Japan

Vaxon Biotech, a company specialising in anti-tumour immunotherapy, has been granted a new patent in Japan covering a series of optimised cryptic

peptides to be used in the design of the Vbx-026, a new cancer vaccine for solid tumours. The patent will support the development of Vbx-026, a vaccine dedicated to the treatment of cancer patients expressing the HLA-A24 molecule which is widely expressed in the Asian population and present in more than 40% of the Japanese population.

The initiation of preclinical development of the Vbx-026 vaccine is planned for 2016. “This new patent will strengthen our position in Japan, a promising market for the development of the Vbx-026 vaccine,” said Dr. Kostas Kosmatopoulos, CEO of Vaxon Biotech. “With four cancer vaccines under development, ranging from lead optimisation to phase II, we have built a strong patent portfolio and we now cover the three major HLA molecules, corresponding to around 80% of cancer patients.”

Vaxon Biotech’s proprietary technology is protected by ten patent families. All vaccines developed by the company target universal tumour antigens and therefore have wide-ranging applications in cancer treatment. Vx-001 and Vx-006, for example are already in clinical trials (Vx-001 in an ongoing randomised phase II trial in eight European countries and Vx-006 in an ongoing phase I trial). Vbx-016 has successfully completed its preclinical development and is ready to enter clinical trials and Vbx-026 is at the final stage of lead optimisation. Vx-001 and Vx-006 can be used for the treatment of patients expressing HLA-A2, the most common HLA molecule in humans (40-45% of the world population). Vx-001 and Vx-006 are fully protected by a total of 17 patents granted in Europe, the US, Canada, China and Japan, 6 of which belong to INSERM/IGR and have been licensed to Vaxon Biotech, while the remaining 11 are Vaxon’s own property.