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Clinical Trials of Personal Cancer Vaccines
In our first iteration of clinical trials, we tested the vaccine in the adjuvant setting for solid tumors (Ott and Hu Nature 2017; Keskin and Anandappa Nature 2019). Building on our first-in-human clinical trials in melanoma and glioblastoma, the existing long peptide vaccine is being further investigated in the clinical setting in these and several additional tumor
types, including those in the active setting of malignancy:
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Discovery Science
We have established the clinical as well as the laboratory infrastructure for undertaking personal cancer vaccine studies at Dana-Farber. Discovery research and technology development are critical in improving vaccine design, response, and manufacture
so we can continue increasing the proportion of patients who can benefit from immunotherapy. Learning more about how the immune system responds to the vaccine will help inform both vaccine development as well as how clinical trial studies are conducted.
Optimizing Vaccine Design
We have a deep commitment to developing more accurate and precise prediction tools to optimize neoantigen discovery using machine learning algorithms and proteomics (see Abelin and Keskin Immunity 2017;
Sarkizova and Klaeger Nature Biotechnology 2020).
Understanding the Immune Response
In conjunction with the Translational Immunogenomics Lab (TIGL), we have created high-resolution immunogenomic tools to allow in-depth assessment of NeoVax-induced immune responses. We use genomics (often
at the single-cell level), proteomics, molecular immunology, and computational methods to study TCRs as well as antigen-specific interactions and their involvement in pathways underling anti-tumor immunity.
Improving the Efficiency of Peptide Manufacture
Fundamental issues with vaccine manufacture include the high cost and long timelines for personalized production. To accelerate manufacturing of our peptide vaccines, we are working with Bradley Pentelute and other investigators at MIT to optimize this
process by using automate fast-flow synthesis (Truex et al Scientific Reports 2020).
Research Publications by Our Experts