Phosphopeptide NeoAntigens for Tumor Immunity: Novel therapeutic options

In cancer cells, the disruption of normal biochemical signaling results in aberrant post-translational modifications, including protein phosphorylation. These mis-phosphorylated proteins can be processed into antigenic peptides by the cellular machinery, resulting in presentation of this novel type of antigen on MHC molecules. PhosphoSynVax is Agenus’s third heat-shock protein-based vaccine platform. PhosphoSynVax is designed to induce immunity against this novel class of phospho-neo-epitopes specific to malignant cells of multiple donors in various cancer types. Based on mass-spectrometry and bio-informatic approaches, we have a library of proprietary phosphopeptide tumor target antigens from different cancers, including lung cancer, specific leukemias, ovarian cancer, colon cancer and others. This approach may enhance immune system recognition of phospho-neo-epitopes, leading to the destruction of cancer cells in various patients across cancer types.