Jun 08, 2010
By Our Staff
Tue. Jun 8 - 4:53 AM
Immunovaccine Inc. of Halifax has signed a collaborative research agreement with Vaxil BioTherapeutics of Israel.
The two bioscience companies announced Monday they will explore the potential of using Vaxil’s cancer antigens in Immunovaccine’s DepoVax vaccine-delivery system.
"In preclinical studies, the DepoVax delivery platform has a demonstrated ability to enhance vaccines, generating a prolonged immune response," Lior Carmon, Vaxil’s chief executive officer, said in a news release.
"We believe that this could fit well with our products and we look forward to making strong advances together in developing the next generation of cancer therapeutics."
Immunovaccine vice-president Marc Mansour called the agreement "an interesting research partnership," noting that Vaxil is an innovator in identifying cancer antigens.
Immunovaccine’s therapeutic cancer vaccine, DPX-0907, is in a Phase 1 clinical trial in the United States
Vaxil’s ImMucin cancer vaccine has been approved for Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials with several myeloma patients. They are scheduled to begin this year.
Beacon Securities of Halifax, which covers Immunovaccine’s investment potential, called the deal "positive news" for the firm.
"We believe there is much potential in combining Vaxil’s strength in identifying peptide cancer antigens with Immunovaccine’s strength in delivering antigens," Beacon said in a bulletin Monday.
Beacon rates Immunovaccine a buy with a 12-month target price of $2 per share.
Immunovaccine stock was trading Monday for $1.24 a share on the TSX Venture Exchange.
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