Japan patent for Moditope immunotherapy platform

8 April 2019

Scancell Holdings Plc

("Scancell" or the "Company")

Scancell announces grant of Japan patent that protects its Moditope® immunotherapy platform

Scancell Holdings plc, the developer of novel immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer, today announces that the Japanese Patent Office has granted a patent that provides protection for Scancell's Moditope® immunotherapy platform.

Japanese patent number 6,490,581, entitled Anti-tumour Response to Modified Self-epitopes, covers using any citrullinated tumour-associated T cell epitope to treat patients with cancer. It has a nominal expiry date of August 2033. This grant in Japan follows the grant of patents in the US, Europe, South Africa and Australia, and acceptance for grant in China. Counterparts to these patents continue to be prosecuted in other territories of importance to Scancell in order to further expand Scancell's IP portfolio.

Dr Cliff Holloway, Chief Executive Officer, Scancell, said:

"We are pleased to announce the grant of this patent for Moditope® in Japan, further extending our IP protection around this platform. We look forward to continuing to advance Modi-1, the first product from this platform, towards clinical development."

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 based on stress-induced post-translational modifications (siPTM). 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 solid tumours including triple negative breast cancer, ovarian cancer and head and neck cancer.

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