14 November 2019 - - Japanese IT and network technologies NEC Corp. (NEC; TOKYO: 6701), a leader in IT and network technologies, and Swiss/German biotechnology company Vaximm AG have signed a strategic clinical trial collaboration agreement and an equity investment agreement to develop novel personalised neoantigen cancer vaccines, the companies said.
Under the terms of the collaboration agreement, which is non-exclusive to both parties, NEC will provide funding for a Phase I clinical trial.
NEC and Vaximm will co-develop personalized cancer vaccines using NEC's cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology, which is utilized in its Neoantigen Prediction System, and Vaximm's proprietary T-cell immunotherapy technology.
The vaccines are planned to be evaluated in a Phase I clinical trial in various solid tumors.
Vaximm will be responsible for conducting the clinical trial, which is expected to be initiated 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.
NEC's neoantigen prediction utilises its proprietary AI which is combined with NEC OncoImmunity AS's bioinformatics pipelines making it the leading neoantigen prediction system in the field.
NEC evaluates candidate neoantigens, which allows it to effectively prioritise numerous candidate neoantigens identified in a single patient.