A cancer vaccine to boost body’s natural defences to fight chordoma and head and neck cancer

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MaxiVAX a private Swiss clinical-stage biotech company with a novel cancer immunotherapy product in development (MaxONCO) will perform Phase 2 clinical trial in Head & Neck indication and prepare the commercialization of MaxONCO, its first immuno-therapy product. The objective of the Phase II clinical trial is to demonstrate efficacy and safety of MaxONCO in the patients treated and compare the results to the current standard of care. MaxONCO is a biological product acting as a cancer vaccine and composed of (i) an immune boost agent released in situ by a genetically modified cell line and (ii) cancer autologous cells, which are the source of antigens. A Phase 1 trial in 25 patients with a range of cancer types at an advanced stage showed encouraging efficacy data and a benign safety profile of the treatment. Head and Neck cancer is a group of cancers that develops in the areas of the head and neck which include the mouth, throat and salivary glands; accounting for 650,000 new cases in 2018 diagnosed globally. With the approval of Swissmedic, MaxiVAX has initiated the Phase 2 clinical trial to evaluate MaxONCO in 40-45 patients with Head & Neck cancer. The study will be conducted across 4-6 different sites in Switzerland. Encouraging clinical results show that among 4 initial Head & Neck patients treated with MaxONCO all survived beyond the 6-month time point (primary efficacy end point). Currently accounting for 8 employees, the company plans to grow up to 25 employees by the end of the SME phase 2 project, creating up to 30 indirect jobs.