OSLO, Norway--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Ultimovacs ASA ("Ultimovacs") (OSE ULTI), a clinical stage leader in immune stimulatory vaccines for cancer, today announced the publication in Frontiers in Immunology of its positive long-term Overall Survival (OS) data from the Phase I trial evaluating the Company’s universal cancer vaccine, UV1, in combination with checkpoint inhibitor ipilimumab in patients with metastatic malignant melanoma. As published in the journal, in addition to the achievement of the primary endpoints of safety and tolerability, 50% of the patients were still alive at the data cut-off, supporting the combination of the Company’s proprietary UV1 vaccine with ipilimumab, a CTLA-4 checkpoint inhibitor and standard-of-care treatment, in this late-stage patient population.

“Publishing our clinical trial data in such a prestigious peer-reviewed publication adds validation for UV1 as a promising therapeutic option for cancer patients. As we continue to evaluate UV1 in various combinations and indications, it is valuable to gain increased international recognition from the clinical community for this study,” stated Jens Bjørheim, Chief Medical Officer at Ultimovacs. “Historical data on the use of ipilimumab as monotherapy in malignant melanoma have shown a 5-year survival rate below 20%, therefore the results published today reinforce UV1’s potential in this indication.”

The data published in Frontiers in Immunology covers 4.8 years of follow-up on the total of 12 metastatic malignant melanoma patients that were enrolled in the Phase I trial. As reported in the journal, the OS was 50% at 4.8 years, which was confirmed by the results of 5 years of follow-up announced by the Company in December 2020.

Building on these promising Phase I results, Ultimovacs is currently enrolling INITIUM, its Phase II clinical trial evaluating UV1 in combination with ipilimumab and nivolumab in patients with metastatic malignant melanoma. The company expects to announce data on the trial’s primary endpoint in 2H2022. In addition, Ultimovacs has an ongoing and fully-enrolled Phase I trial evaluating UV1 in combination with pembrolizumab, a PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor, as a first line treatment in metastatic malignant melanoma patients.

The publication in Frontiers in Immunology can be found under doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.663865.

About UV1

UV1 is a peptide-based vaccine inducing a specific T cell response against the universal cancer antigen telomerase. UV1 is being developed as an “off-the-shelf” therapeutic cancer vaccine which may serve as a platform for use in combination with other immunotherapy which requires an ongoing T cell response for their mode of action. To date, UV1 has been tested in four phase I clinical trials in a total of 82 patients and maintained a positive safety and tolerability profile as well as encouraging signals of efficacy.

About UV1 Clinical Programs

As a universal cancer vaccine, UV1’s unique mechanism of action has the potential to be applicable across most cancer types. The clinical development of the UV1 vaccine includes four randomized, multinational, Phase II combination trials: INITIUM, NIPU, DOVACC and FOCUS, recruiting over 500 patients in total. The INITIUM trial is an Ultimovacs-sponsored clinical trial recruiting 154 patients with metastatic malignant melanoma to evaluate UV1 in combination with ipilimumab and nivolumab as first-line treatment. The NIPU study is testing UV1 in combination with checkpoint inhibitors ipilimumab and nivolumab as second-line treatment in 118 patients with advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma, a rare lung cancer. The study is sponsored by Oslo University Hospital and Bristol-Myers Squibb is providing the checkpoint inhibitors for this study. The DOVACC study is sponsored by the Nordic Society of Gynaecological Oncology. In total, 184 patients with high-grade ovarian cancer will be enrolled to evaluate UV1 in combination with durvalumab and olaparib, both provided by AstraZeneca. FOCUS is an investigator-sponsored, randomized clinical trial enrolling 75 patients with metastatic head and neck cancer receiving pembrolizumab as standard of care, and will evaluate the impact of adding UV1 to this regimen. Ultimovacs anticipates announcing data on the primary endpoints for the NIPU and INITIUM studies in 2H2022 and for the DOVACC and FOCUS studies in 2023.

About Ultimovacs

Ultimovacs seeks to become a leader in developing immune-stimulatory vaccines to treat a broad range of cancers. Ultimovacs’ lead universal cancer vaccine candidate UV1 leverages the high prevalence of the human telomerase (hTERT) to be effective across the dynamic stages of the tumor’s growth and its microenvironment. By directing the immune system to hTERT antigens that are present in over 80% of all cancers, UV1 drives CD4 helper T cells to the tumor with the goal of activating an immune system cascade to increase anti-tumor responses. Ultimovacs’ strategy is to clinically demonstrate UV1’s impact in many cancer types and in combination with other immunotherapies. The Company will expand its pipeline using its novel TET-platform, which is an innovative vaccine technology that can generate multiple vaccine candidates designed to achieve increased T cell responses to a broad range of target antigens.

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