Recent in-vitro lab results confirm that the Company’s proprietary Smart mRNA can be used as a potential on/off switch for selectively detecting cancer cells
Lehi, UT, Feb. 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Lehi, Utah – February 25, 2025 – CancerVax, Inc., the developer of a breakthrough universal cancer treatment (UCT) platform that will use the body’s immune system to fight cancer, today announced the successful functional validation of its innovative Smart mRNA (messenger RNA) technology in lab tests.
The Company’s novel approach detects and universally marks cancer cells as common diseases such as measles. This tricks the natural immune system into mounting a strong immune response and kills cancer cells as if they were measles. The CancerVax technology uses a precision 2-step cancer detection mechanism in a highly functionalized nanoparticle.
Step 1: the nanoparticle latches onto cells with surface proteins highly expressed on cancer cells. Step 2: the nanoparticle releases a proprietary Smart mRNA payload that is conditionally activated based on cancer genetic signatures. When the Smart mRNA encounters the cancer-specific signature, it forces the cancer cell to start producing measle proteins, which disguises the cancer cell as measles and attracts the immune cells. When it encounters a healthy cell signature, the Smart mRNA will not turn on, leaving the healthy cell un-harmed. This on/off cancer signature detection is a very exciting feature that we believe will improve the efficacy and safety of our treatment.
Since August 2024, the Company has been working with Flashpoint Therapeutics to leverage its Structural Nanomedicine (SN) system to deliver and confirm the on/off functionality of the CancerVax Smart mRNAs.
Recent positive lab confirmation of Smart mRNA functionality is a tremendous milestone for the Company. This marks a significant step in CancerVax’s mission to develop effective treatments for hard-to-treat cancers, including pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).
Goals of the Flashpoint Collaboration:
- Demonstrate the successful incorporation of our Smart mRNA payload into Flashpoint nanoparticles
- Confirm that Smart mRNAs can be delivered into cancer cells and non-cancerous cells
- Confirm that Smart mRNAs can be turned on and off by introducing the expected genetic signatures
- Confirm that Smart mRNA will be turned off in non-cancerous cells with the corresponding genetic signature
Results: CancerVax’s Smart mRNA performed as expected!
- Smart mRNAs were successfully delivered to pancreatic, lung, Ewing sarcoma, and breast cancer cell lines, as well as a positive control non-cancerous cell line with very high transfection rate.
- In all of the above cancer cell lines, Smart mRNAs were successfully turned on in the presence of natural cancer-specific signatures and turned off when healthy genetic signatures were artificially added.
- In the non-cancerous cell line, Smart mRNAs were successfully turned off in the presence of natural healthy genetic signatures.
Fluorescence microscopy images of PANC-1 (pancreatic cancer) cell line
- When GFP Smart mRNAs were delivered into a non-cancerous cell line (HEK293), without any artificial genetic signatures, they were turned off naturally in statistically significant amounts. This confirms that Smart mRNA can detect and avoid healthy cells!
These results biologically validate the Company’s Smart mRNA technology and provide a strong foundation for the next phases of development.
Next Steps in Development
With this successful validation, CancerVax will now advance to the following milestones:
- Creation of cell-targeting nanoparticles to perform Step 1 functionality.
- Development of an optimized Smart mRNA that specifically detects PDAC (Pancreatic Cancer) cells, and make it look like measles
- Integration of these components into a complete CancerVax therapeutic nanoparticle
- Perform in-vivo mouse model testing for PDAC treatment
Dr. Adam Grant, Principal Scientist of CancerVax said, “These results are very exciting and confirm that CancerVax is on the right path. With these experiments under our belt, I’m confident that we can harness Smart mRNA technology to specifically deliver our mRNA payload to cancer cells while significantly reducing harmful side effects in healthy cells. I’m thrilled that we were able to achieve the development of a Smart mRNA on our first try. To me, this suggests that the natural biological mechanism we are exploiting for our Smart mRNA technology is very robust and will eventually allow us to help cancer patients across numerous cancer types, not just PDAC patients. We still have work to do, but this is a huge step for us in developing a novel cancer treatment platform that has the potential to drastically improve the lives of many cancer patients.”
Dr. George Katibah, Chief Scientific Officer of CancerVax said, “These exciting results provide important proof of principle for our Smart mRNA technology’s ability to limit expression to cells with a specific genetic signature such as tumor cells while sparing normal tissue. We are now developing an optimized therapeutic mRNA for PDAC that will direct the immune systems to selectively target pancreatic tumor cells by forcing the tumor to express measles proteins. We hope to extend our current results to demonstrate our platform’s ability to activate human immune cells. “Current therapies like personalized cancer vaccines have fundamental limitations with the need to be tailored to each patient and overcome biological barriers to develop a new immune response. Our approach is distinct as it unlocks the immune system’s robust pre-existing ability to fight pathogens across different patients’ immune systems.”
About CancerVax
CancerVax is a pre-clinical biotech company developing a novel Universal Cancer Treatment platform that will be customizable, as an injection, to treat many types of cancer. Our innovative approach DETECTS, MARKS, and KILLS only cancer cells. By making cancer cells look like well-immunized common diseases such as measles or chickenpox, we intend to use the body’s natural immune system to easily kill the cancer cells. We look forward to the day when treating cancer will be as simple as getting a shot – a better way to fight cancer. To learn more, please visit www.CancerVax.com
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on our current beliefs, expectations, and assumptions regarding the future of our business, plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy, and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks, and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict, many of which are outside our control. Our actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement made by us in this release is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date it is made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments, or otherwise.
Press Contact:
CancerVax, Inc.
Tel: (805) 356-1810
communications@CancerVax.com
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