Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Video Player

Pipeline | IFx-3.0

IFx-3.0 Personalized Cancer Vaccine Delivered Intravenously

 

IFx-3.0 is leveraging the clinical validation of our leading IFx-2.0 program and is being developed for intravenous delivery of our proprietary emm55 mRNA targeting CD22, which is overexpressed on cancerous B-cells.

emm55 mRNA codes for the same highly immunogenic bacterial protein utilized in our IFx-2.0 program. We are able to have tumor cells produce the emm55 bacterial protein by using a proprietary codon-optimized mRNA necessary to improve the efficiency of translation. Mechanistically similar to our pDNA IFx-2.0 cancer vaccine, delivery of the mRNA causes this bacterial protein to be expressed on the surface of the tumor cells, priming the immune system to target and attack tumor cells by making them look like bacteria.

While our IFx-2.0 has been utilized for tumors accessible by intratumoral injection, developing a systemically targetable mRNA cancer vaccine allows us to expand the application of our personalized cancer vaccine to blood related cancers like leukemia or lymphoma or multiple myeloma. In aggressive lymphoma, malignant B cells populate the bone marrow, lymph nodes, spleen and blood representing large tumor burden that, if transfected with our mRNA cancer vaccine, could result in the activation of a more robust systemic immune response.

We are developing a proprietary single chain variable fragment (scFv) that has a high affinity and avidity for the CD22 receptor which is overexpressed on B cell malignancies like aggressive lymphomas. CD22 is an ideal target as it is internalized when bound to a ligand bringing into the endosome our emm55 mRNA. Since aggressive lymphomas have a high proliferative index, we would expect high efficiency of translation to the emm55 protein and expression on the surface of the CD22 expressing malignant B cells. Our lead IFx-3.0 gene therapy candidate will utilize lipid nanoparticle packaged emm55 mRNA coupled to our proprietary CD22 targeting scFv. We expect to begin IND enabling studies in the 2nd half of 2024.

 

Program Highlights

  • First CD22 tumor targeted mRNA cancer vaccine

  • Developed proprietary CD22 targeting antibody fragment (scFv) coupled to mRNA loaded lipid nanoparticle

  • CD22 overexpressed on malignant B cells allowing IFx-3.0 mRNA payload to be selectively targeted to and expressed in cancerous B cells

  • Expands cancer vaccine to blood related cancers