NEC Corporation (NEC; TOKYO: 6701), a company involved in IT and network technologies, has signed a strategic clinical trial collaboration agreement and an equity investment agreement with VAXIMM AG, a Swiss/German biotech company focused on developing oral T-cell immunotherapies.

It was reported yesterday that the contract has been signed to develop novel personalised neoantigen cancer vaccines.

According to the terms of the collaboration agreement, which is non-exclusive to both parties, NEC will provide funding for a Phase one clinical trial. Both parties will co-develop personalised cancer vaccines using NEC's artificial intelligence technology, which is used in its Neoantigen Prediction System and VAXIMM's proprietary T-cell immunotherapy technology. The vaccines are planned to be assessed in a Phase one clinical trial in various solid tumours. VAXIMM will be responsible for conducting the clinical trial, which is likely to be started in 2020. NEC has the option for development and commercialisation rights to the program worldwide, except for China and other Asian territories outside of Japan.