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Cleanerworld,

BioNTech's T cell enhancer is actually another mRNA vaccine which encodes T cell antigen mRNA for non-spike proteins - so still part of their mRNA vaccine platform. AFAIK they haven't revealed which proteins they're targeting, just that they've studies all variants and selected epitopes from the most highly conserved proteins. So I assume (but don't know for sure) that will include the Nucelocapsid protein.

So no connection to Scancell other than the satisfaction of knowing that way back at the outset of this pandemic, Lindy Durrant had the foresight to know that vaccines would need to target more highly conserved proteins rather than relying on Spike alone and also that potent T cell responses were needed alongside the B cell response. It's good to see her approach being validated by the likes of BioNTech and Pfizer.

Another new patent application from Redx has been listed in today's UK Patent Journal:-

GB2217844.6 Applicant: Redx Pharma PLC
Title: Compounds
Date Lodged: 28 November 2022

Redx have now lodged at least 5 new patent applications over the past 6 months - clearly R&D work is continuing apace.

Kashdog,

Thanks for the reply - who knows? It's all speculation and your guess is as good as mine.

Konar - would just add that the combination safety cohort 3 is at a low dose and will be followed by another safety cohort 4 at a higher dose before they commence the expansion arms.

Ray - thanks for the reply. Think the fact that the combination cohorts are starting later might give the impression that Scancell are in less of a hurry, but it's just down to the trial design. For safety reasons the combination cohorts couldn't start until the monotherapy cohorts had been dosed without any major problems. (Appreciate you realise that, but others might not)

Why do you think they're in no hurry Ray? I thought they were pressing on with each and every cohort as quickly as possible although could have missed something - perhaps a comment at the AGM?

ee

You have misunderstood my point - I was referring to the pharma, not Scancell.

Kashdog,

Redmile invested in BioNTech's way before then - they led BioNTech's series A funding round back in 2018. It's highly likely that they were alerted to Scancell's potential through the BioNTech connection.

I'm struggling to see any connection with Merck,who have firmly nailed their colours to the mRNA cancer vaccine mast with their Moderna collaboration. They also have other vaccine collaborations and Scancell have never been linked to Merck. The Keytruda link is simply down to the fact that it happens to be the SOC checkpoint inhibitor, but worth noting that the SCIB1 trial is also looking at Opdivo and Yervoy in combination with SCIB1. There are several other major PD-1 and PD-L1 developers who need effective combination therapies just as much - some would argue more than Merck and I wonder whether one of these would be a much better strategic fit for Scancell?

Konar,

That is my understanding too.

Konar - that's the current setting for SCIB1

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04079166?term=scancell&draw=2&rank=3

lofas - do you have a link to comments from Merck?

Cleanerworld,

The international team isn't big pharma - it's Scancell, UoN and Proteome Sciences.

This article is a write up of the GRP78 poster presented at SITC in November and the full paper published in the peer reviewed Frontiers journal in December. See links below.

https://scancell.co.uk/Data/Sites/1/media/publications/posters/bip-sitc-2022-poster.pdf

https://scancell.co.uk/Data/Sites/1/media/publications/papers/brentville-et-al-2022.pdf

ee - thanks and phew

ee

Are you suggesting that OncoResponse could RTO into Scancell?

Burble,

Yes, probably good idea. I obviously didn't ask LD about how it could be done, just whether it was possible as I wanted to understand why BioNTech seemed more interested in Modi for TCR therapy rather than Modi for their own mRNA vaccines - as I say, that was back in 2018. She simply replied that whilst it was possible to create mRNA moditope vaccines, a peptide vax would be more effective.

Burble,

Back in 2018 I asked Lindy Durrant whether it was possible to created a Modi1 mRNA vaccine and she confirmed that it was, but that peptides were more effective.

The above article was published in the BMJ today and includes a short section on Scancell's Moditope with comment from Lindy Durrant:-

'One interesting approach is under development by the Oxford based start-up Scancell. The firm’s Moditope platform aims to enlist CD4+ T cells, rather than CD8+ T cells. The former are sometimes called “helper” cells that coordinate activity by cytotoxic CD8+ T cells, which are those that directly challenge pathogens in the body. Lindy Durrant, chief executive of Scancell, explains that the idea is to prime the CD4+ T cells in such a way that, when they enter tumours, they provoke inflammation in the tumour cells, which would otherwise be absent. This should allow the CD4+ T cells to become cytotoxic themselves, detect the target peptides on the tumour cells, and then destroy them—rather like ripping the invisibility cloak off an intruder.

“If you can really get good inflammation and good, targeted T cells in these tumours, you can just make [the tumours] disappear,” says Durrant. Referring to unpublished data from an ongoing trial, she mentions that one patient has demonstrated a 36% reduction in tumour size after just two immunisations (of a total of five). Biopsies from this patient are due to be analysed to confirm the presence and activity of immune cells. Durrant says, “I can’t really believe that result yet; we need to get more.” Around 140 patients will take part in the phase 1/2 trial, due to complete in 2026.15'

https://www.bmj.com/content/380/bmj.o3041

cleanerworld,

Sorry, but I can't see anything in the press coverage that suggests any involvement for Scancell.

Just to be clear, my post was not specific to Scancell, but as a general point in support of all UK innovation. Although we are familiar with all of the listed bios, there are also so many privately held companies also carrying out brilliant work. If the BioNTech mRNA vaccines were at a more advanced stage, then you could understand the argument for collaborating on and financially supporting a 10,000 patient clinical trial, the benefits to the population are obvious - but they're not. They're still very early stage and we have no idea whether they'll work.

At the onset of the pandemic, with people dying all around and so little known about the virus, it made absolute sense for the UK Government to select the most advanced vaccines and just as importantly those capable of being manufactured at scale.

However, we are now in a very different situation and without wishing to get too political, we have a Government telling us that through their science and innovation strategy, they want to make the UK a 'science superpower' rather than an 'academic powerhouse'.

How very disappointing then that they are cutting R&D tax credits and entering into these massive partnerships with overseas companies. Firstly we've had the 165,000 patient clinical trial for ctDNA liquid biopsy testing to be carried out by the NHS in partnership with US developer Grail and now we have this BioNTech collaboration. We have no idea of the costs to the tax payer and both have a long, long way to go to prove they will benefit patients. If the Government are prepared to take on that risk with taxpayers' cash, then I wish they'd at least spend it in support of UK innovation.

IMO

EE

To answer your questions in order:-

1) The agenda is not publicly available and so we can't say with absolute certainty that they're not presenting, however they would RNS if they were. Unless/until they issue an RNS we have to assume they're not.

2) We don't know whether or not they're travelling to SFO for the overall event and if so whether they're attending the JPM conference itself. I suspect if they were they'd find a way of informing investors.

3) Even if they are attending they won't have a stand.

4) As per no. 1, the agenda is private

Thanks for that Ivy.

From memory, Biotech Showcase is really aimed at younger, up and coming and mainly private biotechs. who haven't been invited to present at JPM but want to share their story. Hopefully Scancell have moved beyond that and at some stage will be presenting at the main event.