Posters –
Immunology & Oncology
NAME OF THE PROJECT
NAME OF THE MAIN CONTACT
ORGANISATION NAME
LTVAX, a therapeutic vaccine for lung cancer treatment based on BacVac
Laurent BUFFAT
APCure
APCure is a company developing immunotherapy products based on the BacVac
technology, a safe, bioengineered, bacterial vector.
LTVAX, the first BacVac-based product, is a therapeutic vaccine for the treatment of
Merkel Cell Virus (MCV) positive lung cancers. It is a safe and effective vector, with a
simple pharmaceutical development
•
Safe: This bacterial vector is devoid of toxins and unable to replicate once injected in
the host. This makes the bacterial vector innocuous, easy to eliminate by the host
and safe for the environment
•
Effective: LTVAX induces a strong immune response against the tumor by educating
the
Technology
immune system to detect and kill tumor cells. LTVAX great efficacy relies on its
ability to deliver tumor antigens to immune cells
•
Simple pharmaceutical development: the LTVAX product is a simple bacterial
culture. Chemically defined medium and storage conditions have already
been identified.
APCure has shown that LTVAX reduces the growth of a tumor expressing MCV antigens
in mice.
Importantly, APCure has also demonstrated that LTVAX is synergistic with anti-PD1
antibody, the new reference in cancer treatment, in a pre-clinical model. LTVAX can
potentially be combined with other immune checkpoint inhibitors (anti-CTLA4, …) or
other therapeutic approaches (CAR-T, …)
Customers / Target market
LTvax induces an immune response against the Large-T (LT) antigen of the MCV, which is
detected in many types of cancers, including the Merkel Cell Carcinoma (MCC) and 20 %
of lung cancers. The first LTvax application will be the immunotherapy of MCV-positive
lung cancer, with a potential market of 3 B€ per year in the USA and Europe. The same
product will then find further application to other MCV-positive tumors, with an overall
market estimated at 5 B€ per year in the USA and EU markets.
LTvax is a first-in-class product. It is the first therapeutic vaccine targeting the Large-T
(LT) antigen of the MCV.
Industry and competitors
Anti-PD1 monoclonal antibodies (nivolumab, pembrolizumab) are the new reference in
lung cancer treatment. However, rather than a competitive approach, this new type of
therapy is a great opportunity for therapeutic vaccines such as LTVAX. Indeed,
therapies combining therapeutic vaccines and anti-PD1 antibodies are regarded as the
future for efficient cancer treatments.
LTVAX has a great potential in combinatory treatment with anti-PD1 antibody in clinic:
LTVAX induces the immune response against the tumor, while the anti-PD1 makes the
induced response strongly effective at the tumor site. APCure has already demonstrated
that LTVAX is synergistic with anti-PD1 antibody.
LTVAX : a 8M€ for a 200M€ return on investment
Financing need / Commercial
opportunity
•
APCure is seeking a 8 M€ investment : 1M€ for the pre-clinical phase, 2M€ for
the Phase I clinical trial and 5M€ for the phase II clinical trial
•
LTVAX will be outlicensed in 2019
LTVAX outlicensing will generate a return on investment of ~200 M€ (excluding
royalties)
One VC is prepared to invest in a non-leader position
•
Secured intellectual property
IP – Patent situation
•
APCure has filed a patent request to protect LTVAX intellectual property
(EP15305861.5 (A1))
•
LTVAX is based on a technology that is covered by two patent families in the USA and
Europe. APCure has the exclusive license for these patents and a worldwide freedom
to operate (EP1692162(B1) and EP2604682 (A1))
LTVAX product is ready to enter pre-clinical and pharmaceutical development.
APCure is now looking for investors or co-development partners to perform the
preclinical and clinical development of LTvax as a bitherapy strategy with
immune checkpoint inhibitors.
Future steps / Milestones
LTvax development in the EU can be summarized into three Milestones with the
following requirements:
• Milestone 0 (LTvax preclinical validation): 1 M€, achieved Q1 of 2017
• Milestone 1 (phase I/IIa study for safety evaluation): 2 M€, achieved Q1 of 2018
• Milestone 2 (phase IIb study for efficacy evaluation): 5 M€, achieved Q3 of 2019
Further reading
N/A
Contact person
Dr Laurent BUFFAT, CEO, APCure, laurent.buffat@apcure.com
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