IMV Inc. announced that it is advancing the clinical development of a DPX-based vaccine candidate against COVID-19. Vaccines against infectious disease have been a core part of IMV’s heritage across its DPX platform technology.
The goal of this development program will be to establish the clinical safety and immunogenicity of a vaccine candidate based on the Company’s DPX delivery technology and incorporating peptides targeting novel epitopes from the coronavirus strain. The Company believes that this peptide-based approach, combined with the portability of the DPX platform, offers the potential for accelerated development and rapid, large-scale production of a vaccine.
The Company intends to develop its vaccine candidate DPX-COVID-19 in collaboration with lead investigators for the phase 1 clinical study: Joanne Langley, M.D. and Scott Halperin, M.D., of the Canadian Center for Vaccinology (CCfV) at Dalhousie University, the Izaak Walton Killam Health Center and the Nova Scotia Health Authority and the Canadian Immunization Research Network (CIRN); along with Dr. Gary Kobinger, Ph.D., Director of the Research Centre on Infectious Diseases at the University Laval in Quebec City and Global Urgent and Advanced Research and Development (GUARD) in Canada. The investigators will assist with preclinical and clinical evaluation and with further development strategy in collaboration with the Canadian government and others.
“As lead investigator on the Phase 1 study of DPX-RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus), I witnessed the unique potential of IMV’s epitope-based vaccine approach. I was particularly impressed by the persistence of immunogenicity at one year in an older adult population, suggesting that it is possible with this type of approach, to create an immune response that lasts for an extended period of time” said Dr. Langley. “I believe this collaboration creates the possibility of an accelerated path to clinical development of a vaccine to prevent COVID-19, and underscores the importance of public-private partnerships to tackle this epidemic.”
“We appreciate the urgent need to find solutions to the growing pandemic. Across our many clinical studies, we have observed DPX technology to elicit a robust immune response with a sustained effect, including in sensitive populations. We believe this technology offers a meaningful solution as a potential vaccine, especially in older adults and those with pre-existing conditions who are most at risk to this virus and generally more difficult to vaccinate effectively,” said Frederic Ors, Chief Executive Officer of the Company. “Additionally, we are pleased to be collaborating on this project with Dr. Langley, Dr. Halperin and Dr. Kobinger, who are leading voices in immunization and infectious disease and share our commitment to public health.”
Third-party research in related coronaviruses has identified the benefit of humoral and cellular (B and T cell) immune responses for protection and resolution of infection, and the Company believes the body of data it has produced to date supports its DPX platform for peptide-based induction of B cells and T cells. The Company is now designing a vaccine candidate against COVID-19 based on third-party immunological studies of SARS-CoV and third-party sequencing data available for SARS-CoV-2 with the goal of selecting potentially immunogenic epitopes within the virus that induce neutralizing antibody responses and protective T cell responses.
Through the Company’s other clinical studies, the Company believes its DPX technology has demonstrated a favorable safety profile and immunogenicity in both cancer and infectious disease settings, with sustained effect and potential for single-dose effectiveness as a prophylactic vaccine. Over 200 patients have been dosed with DPX-based immunotherapies and data from these studies suggest treatment is well-tolerated, including in heavily pre-treated cancer patients with advanced-stage disease. The Company has also applied this technology for the prevention of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the second-leading cause of respiratory illness in infants, the elderly and the immunosuppressed. The Company reported its Phase 1 data[1] from its clinical candidate, DPX-RSV, which demonstrated a favorable safety profile and immunogenicity in older adults (age 50-64), as well as preclinical data from research-stage candidates aimed at other infectious diseases, including malaria and anthrax.