Advaxis Inc. granted SELLAS Life Sciences Group a license to develop a novel cancer immunotherapy agent using Advaxis’ proprietary Lm-based antigen delivery technology with SELLAS’ patented WT1 targeted heteroclitic peptide antigen mixture (galinpepimut-S).
Advaxis’ proprietary technology generates innate immune stimulation, alongside potent and sustained T-cell responses.
When combined with SELLAS’ WT1 antigens, this has the potential to precisely direct an immune response, yielding improved clinical activity against many cancer types that express WT1. SELLAS’ future clinical studies will investigate this capability in the presence of measurable residual or recurrent disease.
Galinpepimut-S has demonstrated positive phase II clinical results in acute myeloid leukemia and malignant pleural mesothelioma and positive early clinical data in multiple myeloma. It has been shown to induce strong immune responses (CD4+/CD8+) against the WT1 antigen and to access a broad range of HLA types.
Advaxis’s Lm-based antigen delivery technology has demonstrated the potential to induce an enhanced innate immune stimulation and generate specific T cells while reducing immune tolerance in the tumor microenvironment.
Advaxis will conduct all pre-clinical activities required for an IND filing.
Thereafter, SELLAS will be responsible for all clinical development and commercial activities. Advaxis will receive future payments of up to $358 million from SELLAS if development, regulatory, and commercial milestones are met.
Following any regulatory approval of the product candidate emanating from this particular program, SELLAS has agreed to pay Advaxis single-digit to low double-digit royalties based on worldwide net sales upon commercialization.
