SIRION Biotech licenses adenovirus technology to Danish start-up InProTher in vaccine approach to cancer

Martinsried, Germany: – Five years of collaboration between Bavarian-based viral technology specialist SIRION Biotech GmbH and Danish-based start-up InProTher ApS has come to fruition with a licensing agreement that targets Endogenous Retrovirus (ERV)-derived antigens in active immunotherapy against cancers.

Under an agreement jointly announced in Munich and Copenhagen, SIRION will license its adenovirus technologies to InProTher, which is supported by Novo Nordisk Foundation’s BioInnovation Institute (BII) for development of cancer vaccines that encode ERV-derived antigens for active immunotherapy.

VLP with inactive ISD

In addition, the companies have agreed to the assignment of ownership rights in a patent application for an adenoviral vector capable of encoding a virus-like particle (VLP) that displays an inactive immune-suppressive domain (ISD). This vaccine shows an improved immune response from either or both of the response pathways initiated by CD4 T cells or CD8 T cells.

SIRION has been collaborating since 2015 in the fields of HPV vaccine development and ERVs with InProTher, which is an immunotherapy company applying adenovirus technologies both for cloning large nucleic acids and increasing the yield of replication-incompetent adenoviruses.

Pioneering adaptive immune therapy

The companies’ joint goal is to develop the world’s first adaptive immune therapy capable of targeting immunosuppressive genes of ancient retroviruses that normally are dormant in the human genome. The retroviral genes are reactivated in cancer and essential for tumor development. InProTher’s proprietary combination of novel technologies is designed to break tolerance to this unique antigen family, thus providing broad anti-cancer efficacy.

As part of this agreement, SIRION Biotech will receive shares of InProTher Aps, as well as representation on their Board of Directors. The parties have also agreed on milestones and royalties should InProTher’s developments pass clinical development hurdles.

Innovative cancer vaccine

SIRION CEO Dr. Christian Thirion commented:

“This innovative cancer vaccine approach holds great promise, and our adenovirus was initially developed for such a vaccination. We congratulate InProTher as they prepare to enter clinical development with the support of the BII.”

InProTher’s Interim CEO and CSO, Dr. Peter J. Holst, said: “InProTher’s proprietary combination of novel technologies is designed to break tolerance to this unique antigen family, thus providing broad anti-cancer efficacy. SIRION has been a creative, loyal and responsive partner over the years, and their adenovirus technology is ideally suited to our needs.”

Dr. Holst is a former Associate Professor at the University of Copenhagen with long-standing experience in immunology, having made pivotal discoveries in the field.

About SIRION Biotech

Founded at Martinsried, near Munich, in 2007, SIRION Biotech has become Europe’s leading commercial supplier of viral vectors used for genetic research, clinical target validation, cell and gene therapy and vaccination studies. It is SIRION’s mission to change the paradigm for viral vector supplies, with their ability to develop and supply all major viral vector types (adenovirus, lentivirus, AAV) within a matter of weeks at the concentration titres and quantities needed for preclinical human and animal testing.

Its unique focus on improving transduction efficiencies and safety makes SIRION Biotech a valuable technology partner for gene and cell therapy trials. LentiBOOST^™ transduction reagent is actively used to improve, among others, hematopoietic cell transductions in clinical trials. NextGen AAV capsid evolution projects aim to improve tissue targeting and immune escape of capsids to usher in a new generation of therapeutics for international gene therapy companies. SIRION offerings include the transformational RNAiONE^™ knockdown validation platform along with a full range of virus related services, ranging from particle production to virus driven cell modelling.

SIRION Biotech International is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SIRION Biotech GmbH providing custom engineering and manufacturing services of viral vectors for the life sciences industry.

Learn more at: www.sirion-biotech.com

About InProTher ApS

Copenhagen-based InProTher ApS is an immunotherapy company dedicated to developing the world’s first adaptive immune therapy capable of targeting immunosuppressive genes of ancient retroviruses that normally are dormant in the human genome. The retroviral genes are reactivated in cancer and are essential for tumor development.

InProTher’s approach is based on the research of founder and CSO, Dr. Peter Holst, and CTO, Dr. Anne-Marie Andersson. Key in the anti-cancer approach is the Virus-Like-Vaccine technology delivered by hAd19a/64 vaccine vectors.

InProTher is funded by the Novo Nordisk BioInnovation Institute and by grants from The Danish Innovation Fund and EUROSTARS.

Further information at: https://www.inprother.com