July 1, 2020 -- Intravacc has entered a strategic partnership with CimCure for in-licensing of CimCure's iBoost technology for cancer immunotherapy vaccines and a COVID-19 vaccine.
Under the agreement, Intravacc will have access to iBoost technology for the development of new cancer immunotherapy vaccines in mutually agreed upon countries. The iBoost technology was developed at Amsterdam University Medical Center (UMC) by Arjan Gfiffioen, PhD, professor of experimental oncology and chief scientific officer at CimCure.
The technology elicits antibody responses against tumor vasculature to overcome drug resistance and the limitations of current methods for inducing antibody responses. Treatment with iBoost has long-term efficacy and is cost effective. CimCure has demonstrated proof-of-concept with several preclinical models.
Additionally, Intravacc and CimCure will participate in the joint development of a COVID-19 vaccine using the iBoost technology. This research is enabled by a $1.4 million award to CimCure/Amsterdam UMC from Health Holland, an investment organization of the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
With this collaboration, CimCure will focus on the design and preclinical validation of three different types of COVID-19 vaccine candidates, while Intravacc will be responsible for vaccine process development, pilot production of the candidate for clinical development, and a phase I clinical trial.