CureVac N.V., a global biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of transformative medicines based on messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), and myNEO N.V., a Belgium-based immunotherapy company, entered into a research and option agreement. 
 
Both companies aim to identify specific antigens found on the surface of tumors for the development of novel mRNA immunotherapies. myNEO will leverage its biological datasets and its integrated machine learning and bioinformatics platform to identify and validate specific antigen targets predicted to elicit a strong immune response. myNEO utilizes a broad range of underlying genomic alterations to identify constantly emerging, novel classes of antigens of defined tumor types. The immunogenicity of identified antigens is predicted using algorithms, machine and deep learning methods and an extensive database containing data on tumor specific mutations. Incorporating new ranking methodologies based on tumor cell antigen processing and presentation allows for selection of antigens with the highest confidence of success for potential clinical testing. 

 
“We are translating our mRNA technology insights and learnings to create value in oncology,” said Antony Blanc, Chief Business Officer and Chief Commercial Officer of CureVac. “myNEO’s state-of-the- art predictive approach to analyze tumor and normal genetic data inputs from multiple sources, perfectly complements our mRNA technology as we advance the development of novel cancer vaccines. Through this collaboration, we prepare to build a strong pipeline in oncology and accelerate growth beyond our progress in prophylactic vaccines.”
 
“CureVac is a front-runner in the mRNA technology ecosystem, and its use for the development of therapeutic cancer vaccines has shown great promise,” said Cedric Bogaert, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of myNEO. “We’re convinced that combining our innovative neoantigen target identification and selection methods with mRNA technology holds great potential for immuno- therapies, and CureVac was the logical choice for us to further validate this avenue. Supplementing our own developments with this collaboration will allow us to benefit from CureVac’s years of experience and know-how, and to create a significant impact on the immunotherapy domain.”