ADVANTAGES OF VAX014 OVER ONCOLYTIC VIRUS-BASED THERAPIES

All virus-based oncolytic immunotherapies require biosafety level 2 (BSL-2) facilities, equipment, and specified handling and cleaning procedures to be administered. In addition, patients must adopt biocontainment procedures at home and must remain isolated from immunocompromised or pregnant loved ones while on treatment. 

VAX014 poses no infection risk, solving each of these problems. 

The best antitumor T cell priming conditions occur when the peak of tumor antigens and the peak of innate immune activation overlap.  VAX014 has been shown to excel at this. 

On the other hand, oncolytic viruses initiate a rapid innate antiviral immune response during the infection of a cell, but the height of tumor antigen availability does not occur until days later when the virus completes its lifecycle and viral burst occurs.  

Oncolytic virus-based immunotherapies are known to have limited activity in tumors that express functional antiviral sensing genes, STING and/or RIG-I (a majority of tumors do).  The antiviral response eliminates the virus before it can do its job. 

VAX014 is highly active in STING and RIG-I positive tumors and activates both of these pathways as part of its MoA, which is beneficial to priming antitumor T cells.

VAX014 is simple to manufacture by virtue of the fact it does not require BSL-2 handling facilities and is based on simple, scalable, controlled and established microbial fermentation production processes. 

VAX014 is thermostable for long periods of time (years) in standard -20C conditions. This product feature provides better cold chain logistics and expands access to sites that are not currently equipped with dedicated -80C.  

VAX014 provides better dose control because it is incapable of replicating. This product feature provides a more predictable and manageable safety profile. Viruses do replicate, and as a result the "final" dose administered will vary widely.