Geron’s therapeutic cancer vaccine, GRNVAC1, triggers an immune response against the universal cancer antigen, telomerase, and uses the LAMP sequence to enhance that immune response. The LAMP technology was invented at Johns Hopkins University and recently licensed to Immunomic Therapeutics for all applications.
Under the license, Geron receives worldwide exclusive rights to the Johns Hopkins LAMP patents for cancer vaccines directed to telomerase as well as two additional antigen targets to be selected by Geron at a later date. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
“GRNVAC1 has demonstrated tolerability and immunogenicity in a phase I/II clinical trial in metastatic prostate cancer,” said Thomas Okarma, Geron’s president and CEO. “In addition, results from this trial suggest that the use of the LAMP signal sequence may help to enhance the already potent immune responses seen with telomerase alone.”
The LAMP sequence causes an antigen to which it is attached to be taken up by the lysosomal subcellular compartment of the cell. This has been shown to increase presentation on MHC class II molecules, which in turn, can produce greater CD4+ T-cell responses against the antigen and a more potent and longer lasting overall immune response.