Transgene (Euronext Paris: TNG), a biotech company that designs and develops virus-based immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer, and NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701), a leader in IT, network and AI technologies, today announced 24.1 month median follow-up data from the ongoing randomized Phase I trial of TG4050 in the adjuvant treatment of head and neck cancers. The data will be presented in a poster at the Society for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (SITC) 2024 Annual Meeting, November 9.

TG4050 is an individualized immunotherapy being developed for solid tumors that is based on Transgene’s myvac® platform and powered by NEC’s cutting-edge AI capabilities designed to optimize antigen selection.

After a median follow up of 24.1 months, all 16 patients who received TG4050 as adjuvant immunotherapy after completion of an adjuvant standard of care remain disease-free and have not relapsed. Out of the 16 patients in the control observation arm, 3 patients have relapsed. There remains a high medical need for these head and neck cancer patients, as approximately 30% of them are expected to experience a relapse within 24 months after standard surgery and adjuvant chemoradiotherapy.

Immune responses targeting selected neoantigens were identified in 100% of patients who received TG4050, demonstrating the strong immunogenicity of the cancer vaccine, with both de novo and amplified responses. An analysis over 7 months also shows that immune responses are sustained, during the induction and boost periods.

All treatment-related adverse events continue to be mild to moderate.

Pr. Le Tourneau, Head of the Department of Drug Development and Innovation (D3i) at Institut Curie, and Principal Investigator, said: "It is highly encouraging to see confirmation of TG4050’s clinical and immune response data after a median follow-up of 24.1-months. There remains a significant unmet need in head and neck cancer patients in the adjuvant setting. TG4050 has demonstrated its potential to prime an adaptive immune response against tumor antigens and prevent relapse in patients with locally advanced resected head and neck squamous cell carcinoma."

Dr. Emmanuelle Dochy, Chief Medical Officer of Transgene, added: "We are very encouraged to observe that all the patients treated with our neoantigen cancer vaccine TG4050 remain disease-free after a median follow-up of 24.1 months. Looking at these results and at the long-lasting immune response, we are confident that TG4050 has the potential to benefit these patients, who still face a significant risk of relapse with current therapies. A Phase II part of our trial is currently enrolling patients internationally, with the aim of further confirming these promising findings."

Motoo Nishihara, Corporate EVP, and CTO, at NEC, added: "These results illustrate the power of our collaboration with Transgene and our ability to develop a personalized approach to cancer patient treatment using our proprietary artificial intelligence and machine learning models. We have built a strong and compelling clinical data set to support the benefits of TG4050 as an individualized immunotherapy, and we remain committed to bringing novel AI-based treatments to patients across the globe."