Identification of 2nd Moditope Cancer Vaccine

30 October 2018

Scancell Holdings Plc

("Scancell" or the "Company")

Identification of second Moditope® cancer vaccine target - homocitrullination

Basis for development of Modi-2 for multiple solid tumours

Scancell Holdings plc, the developer of novel immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer, today announces an update on the development of its second vaccine from its proprietary Moditope platform, Modi-2. Pre-clinical data demonstrates that homocitrullinated peptides induce highly potent T cell responses, tumour rejection and increased survival in murine models.

Moditope represents a completely new class of potent and selective immunotherapy agents based on stress-induced post-translational modifications (siPTMs) which could have a profound effect on the way that cancer immunotherapies are developed. Scancell's lead Moditope vaccine, Modi-1, acts by stimulating the production of CD4 T cells using citrullinated tumour-associated peptide epitopes, which overcome self-tolerance and destroy tumour cells. Modi-2 exploits a new modification, stimulating the production of CD4 T cells using homocitrullinated tumour-associated peptide epitopes. Whereas citrullination involves the conversion of the amino acid arginine to citrulline, the process of homocitrullination involves the conversion of lysine to homocitrulline. Scancell believes this second mechanism of action has the potential to broaden the utilisation of the Moditope platform.

Modi-2 is currently in pre-clinical development and work is underway to characterise specific homocitrullinated peptides for clinical development that have the potential to address different cancer indications to Modi-1, including tumours with a particularly immunosuppressive environment. The Modi-2 peptide family is the subject of new intellectual property applications with a view to extend the Company's dominant patent position in relation to post-translational modifications of cellular proteins and their application in the treatment of cancer.

Prof Lindy Durrant, Chief Scientific Officer of Scancell, commented: "We are pleased to be able to provide an update on the progress of our second Moditope vaccine, Modi-2. The data clearly demonstrates the potential of homocitrullinated, as well as citrullinated, tumour-associated peptide epitopes to be developed for the treatment of  solid  cancers."

Prof. Durrant will provide an overview of Modi-2 and its potential as a new vaccine for the treatment of cancer at the Company's AGM today. Her presentation will be available on the company website, www.scancell.co.uk.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (MAR).

For Further Information:

About Scancell

Scancell is developing novel immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer based on its ImmunoBody® and Moditope® technology platforms.

ImmunoBody® vaccines target dendritic cells and stimulate both parts of the cellular immune system. They can be used as monotherapy or in combination with checkpoint inhibitors. This platform has the potential to enhance tumour destruction, prevent disease recurrence and extend survival. 

·      SCIB1, the lead programme, is being developed for the treatment of melanoma. A phase 1/2 clinical trial has so far successfully demonstrated survival data of more than five years.

·      SCIB2 is being developed for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer and other solid tumours. Scancell has entered into a clinical development partnership with Cancer Research UK for SCIB2. 

Moditope® represents a completely new class of potent and selective immunotherapy agents. It stimulates the production of killer CD4+ T cells which overcome the immune suppression induced by tumours. allowing activated T cells to seek out and kill tumour cells that would otherwise be hidden from the immune system. Moditope® alone, or in combination with other agents, has the potential to treat a wide variety of cancers.

·      Modi-1 is being developed for the treatment of triple negative breast cancer, ovarian cancer and sarcomas.

For further details, please see our website:  www.scancell.co.uk