Transgene and ProBioGen Collaborate on Individualized Cancer Vaccine Development

Transgene and ProBioGen, a CDMO, inked a license agreement for ProBioGen’s AGE1.CR.pIX^® suspension cell line which will combine ProBioGen’s specific production technology with the manufacturing capabilities of Transgene’s individualized cancer vaccine program and its myvac^® platform.

“The AGE1.CR.pIX suspension cell line represents a significant addition to further expand the manufacturing processes for our individualized cancer vaccines while we work towards providing patients with tailored patient-specific therapies against cancer on a larger scale,” said Alessandro Riva, MD, CEO of Transgene.

“We are thrilled to partner with Transgene in advancing the frontier of personalized cancer vaccines,” added Volker Sandig, PhD, CSO of ProBioGen. “Our collaboration holds immense potential to impact the personalized vaccine space and to offer new treatments and hope to cancer patients.”

Immortalized cell line

ProBioGen’s AGE1.CR.PIX has been designed and developed as an immortalized and stable proliferating avian cell line that is highly permissive for a variety of different vaccine viruses including poxviral vectors, according to ProBioGen. The cell line development, from egg to generation of cell banks, has been performed completely under GMP-compliance at ProBioGen and is fully documented, noted a company spokesperson.

Transgene’s myvac platform is based on the Modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) viral vector, which has already been validated in clinical trials. myvac is designed to stimulate and educate the patient’s immune system to recognize and destroy tumors using their own cancer-specific genetic mutations.

The neoantigens, which are the basis for the platform, are identified by sequencing and selected using artificial intelligence algorithms, and then integrated into the genome of the viral vector. Once administered to the patient, myvac triggers a cascade of immune responses against a variety of targets found in the cancer cells, according to Transgene.

To create this treatment, Transgene has set up a network that combines bioengineering, digital transformation, genomics, translational data, and the company’s vectorization expertise. Transgene has also set up an in-house GMP production unit.

TG4050 is the first myvac product candidate. It is co-developed with NEC, which focuses on the integration of IT and network technologies. TG4050 is being evaluated in a Phase I/II clinical trial for the treatment of head and neck cancers.