China's Everest Medicines announced on 15 July that China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) accepted the investigational new drug (IND) application for EVM14, an off-the-shelf mRNA therapeutic cancer vaccine targeting five tumour-associated antigens for squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Preclinical studies showed EVM14 induced dose-dependent immune responses and significantly inhibited tumour growth in mouse models, with potential synergy when combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors. The vaccine, which also demonstrated reduced tumour recurrence and metastasis, received US IND clearance earlier this year.
EVM14 is part of Everest's mRNA oncology pipeline, which includes the personalised neoantigen vaccine EVM16, already in a China-based investigator-initiated trial (IIT). The company's mRNA platform aligns with global trends, as Moderna/MSD's mRNA-4157 and BioNTech's BNT111 advance in clinical development. Over 20 Chinese firms are actively pursuing mRNA cancer vaccines, with recent progress from companies like New Horizon Health and CanSino Biologics.
According to PharmCube's NextBiopharm® database, the cancer vaccine field is extremely competitive as it spans over 700 innovative projects under development, within which over hald are in pre-clinical stage. Click here to request a free trial for NextBiopharm®.
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