Oslo, Norway – PCI Biotech Holding ASA (OSE: PCIB), a cancer-focused biopharmaceutical company with a unique intracellular delivery technology via Photochemical Internalisation and Immunicum AB (publ; IMMU.ST), a biopharmaceutical company focused on hard-to-treat established tumors and the prevention of cancer recurrence, announced today an extension of their current collaboration.
The companies jointly research the possibility to overcome current hurdles in cancer immunotherapy by introducing tumor-independent immune targets into the tumor microenvironment, in combination with vaccination or adoptive immunotherapies. The so-called Tumor Independent Antigen concept, which has been invented by Immunicum, could benefit from PCI Biotech’s antigen delivery technologies based on Photochemical Internalisation. Following the encouraging results of the first set of in vitro experiments, during which the delivery protocol of the combination treatment has been optimized, the companies have decided to move ahead to evaluate the novel therapeutic concept in animal models. While the first experiments were conducted by Immunicum, this further in vivo evaluation will be carried out by PCI Biotech.
Commenting on the announcement PCI Biotech’s CEO, Per Walday said: “The results of the initial collaborative experiments are encouraging, supporting the immune response enhancing capability of the fimaVacc platform technology. We are committed to this collaboration and are looking forward to the next series of experiments in animal models, which are aimed to generate data that could pave the way to a potential joint development program.”
Erik Manting, CEO of Immunicum added: “At Immunicum, we are continuously studying novel immunotherapy concepts aimed to address hard-to-treat established tumors and to overcome the limitations of currently available cancer therapies. In this collaboration, we are combining our know-how and technology basis with that of PCI Biotech to design potential novel therapeutic concepts and we look forward to advancing the collaboration through in vivo studies as an important next step.”
Contact information:
Per Walday, CEO
[email protected]
Mobile: +47 917 93 429
About Immunicum AB
Immunicum is a biopharmaceutical company focused on hard-to-treat established tumors and the prevention of cancer recurrence, two key challenges in oncology. We are leveraging our unparalleled expertise in allogeneic dendritic cell biology to develop an advanced clinical pipeline of novel, off-the-shelf, cell-based therapies for solid and blood-borne tumors. Based in Sweden and the Netherlands, Immunicum is publicly traded on the Nasdaq Stockholm. www.immunicum.com
About PCI Biotech
PCI Biotech is a biopharmaceutical late-stage clinical development company focusing on the development and commercialization of novel therapies for the treatment of cancer through its innovative photochemical internalization (PCI) technology platform. PCI is applied to three distinct anticancer paradigms: fimaChem (enhancement of chemotherapeutics for localized treatment of cancer), fimaVacc (T-cell induction technology for therapeutic vaccination), and fimaNAc (nucleic acid therapeutics delivery).
Photochemical internalization induces triggered endosomal release that is used to unlock the true potential of a wide array of therapeutic modalities. The company’s lead program fimaChem consists of a pivotal study in bile duct cancer, an orphan indication with a high unmet need and without approved products. fimaVacc applies a unique mode of action to enhance the essential cytotoxic effect of therapeutic cancer vaccines, which works in synergy with several other state-of-the-art vaccination technologies. fimaNAc utilizes the endosomal release to provide intracellular delivery of nucleic acids, such as mRNA and RNAi therapeutics, thereby addressing one of the major bottlenecks facing this emerging and promising field.
For further information, please visit: www.pcibiotech.com