A team from Geneva University Hospital (HUG) and the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has won Switzerland’s prestigious 2026 Pfizer Prize for Biomedical Research for developing a personalised therapeutic cancer vaccine (MVX-ONCO-1).
The vaccine, based on 15 years of research, uses a patient's own tumour cells to train the immune system.
While conventional treatments like chemotherapy and radiotherapy show their limitations in battling certain advanced cancers, immunotherapy and therapeutic vaccines have opened up a new realm of hope for patients, according to the Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève.
The underlying principle is that they mobilise the body’s natural defences to target tumour cells.
Despite spectacular results in some cases, the complexity of tumours and the heterogeneity of immune profiles complicate the development of immunotherapy. In recent years, many attempts at therapeutic vaccines have failed to combine the tumour cells of patients with an effective stimulation of the immune system.
This study successfully tackled this double limitation. It was conducted by Professor Nicolas Mach, head of the Clinical Research Unit of the Department of Oncology, head of the Cancer Centre at the HUG, and Associate Professor at the Department of Medicine and the Translational Research Centre in Onco-Haematology (CRTOH) of the UNIGE Faculty of Medicine; Rémi Vernet, scientific officer at the UNIGE Medicine Department, and Dr Eugenio Fernandez, staff physician, Division of Oncology at the HUG.
Complementary
The technology the team developed, called MVX-ONCO-1, is a therapeutic vaccine that combines two complementary processes. First, a tumour sample is taken from the patient through minimally invasive surgery.
The extracted tumour cells are then irradiated to render them inactive while preserving all their antigens – molecules that allow the immune system to recognise cells as foreign and destroy them.
This extract is then re-injected as a personalised vaccine.
“When treating cancer, we don’t always know the exact antigens to target. By using the entire inactivated tumour, we provide the immune system with a complete blueprint of possible targets,” said Vernet.
In parallel, biocompatible capsules containing genetically modified human cell lines are implanted under the skin. These encapsulated cells continuously and stably release an immune-stimulating factor, called an adjuvant, at the site of vaccination to stimulate, recruit and activate antigen-presenting cells of the immune system.
“Essentially, this immunostimulatory factor helps to rearm the immune system, particularly when it has been weakened by previous treatments like chemotherapy. Moreover, in preclinical studies, our adjuvant has proven to be the most effective ever developed for directing the immune system against a tumour,” said Fernandez.
Promising results
In this first clinical study on humans, the researchers and their team treated 34 people with advanced solid tumours that were resistant to all other treatments. Each person received six injections of their own MVX-ONCO-1 vaccine over nine weeks.
All stages, from sampling to production and administration of the treatment, were carried out using the HUG infrastructure.
“We were able to rely on the platform of the cell therapy and transplantation laboratories of the HUG for the preparation of therapeutic cell products according to the very strict Swissmedic standards and the Research Unit of the Division of Oncology, for the management of patients and the clinical trial,” said Mach.
More than half of the participants showed signs of clinical benefit, ranging from stabilisation of the disease to prolonged survival. No significant side effects were observed.
“For patients, this is a minimally invasive and very well-tolerated therapy. This is essential when you consider how taxing conventional treatments can be,” noted Fernandez
New generation
While the results of the study are not yet proof of effectiveness on a large scale, they lay the foundation for a fully personalised therapeutic strategy.
“There is still much work to be done! We now need to test this technology in larger cohorts, at earlier stages of the disease and combine it with other existing treatments. But we are starting from a solid base,” said Mach.
“The next step will be securing funding. Advanced-phase clinical trials require very significant resources. Winning the Pfizer Prize is an important milestone, a mark of excellence and recognition that will help attract the necessary support to allow us to move forward.”
Study details
First-in-Human Phase I Clinical Study with MVX-ONCO-1, a Personalised Active Immunotherapy, in Patients with Advanced Solid Tumours.
Rémi Vernet, Eugenio Fernandez, Denis Migliorini et al.
Published in Cancer Research Communications on 14 August 2024
Abstract
Over two decades, most cancer vaccines failed clinical development. Key factors may be the lack of efficient priming with tumour-specific antigens and strong immune-stimulatory signals. MVX-ONCO-1, a personalised cell-based cancer immunotherapy, addresses these critical steps utilising clinical-grade material to replicate a successful combination seen in experimental models: inactivated patient’s own tumour cells, providing the widest cancer-specific antigen repertoire and a standardised, sustained, local delivery over days of a potent adjuvant achieved by encapsulated cell technology. We conducted an open-label, single-arm, first-in-human phase I study with MVX-ONCO-1 in patients with advanced refractory solid cancer. MVX-ONCO-1 comprises irradiated autologous tumour cells co-implanted with two macrocapsules containing genetically engineered cells producing granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor. Patients received six immunisations over nine weeks without maintenance therapy. Primary objectives were safety, tolerability, and feasibility, whereas secondary objectives focused on efficacy and immune monitoring. Data from 34 patients demonstrated safety and feasibility with minor issues. Adverse events included one serious adverse event possibly related to investigational medicinal product and two moderate-related adverse events. More than 50% of the patients with advanced and mainly non-immunogenic tumours showed clinical benefits, including partial responses, stable diseases, and prolonged survival. In recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, one patient achieved a partial response, whereas another survived for more than 7 years without anticancer therapy for over 5 years. MVX-ONCO-1 is safe, well tolerated, and beneficial across several tumour types. Ongoing phase IIa trials target patients with advanced recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma after initial systemic therapy.
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