Immutep has entered into a clinical trial collaboration agreement, a supply agreement and a service agreement with CYTLIMIC Inc. for its lead product candidate eftilagimod alpha as part of a cancer vaccine.

The companies will collaborate on clinical trials to evaluate efti as part of a therapeutic cancer vaccine containing CYTLIMIC’s cancer peptide vaccine, called CYT001.

CYTLIMIC will conduct the trials and fund all development costs. Immutep will receive $500,000 upfront and is eligible to receive up to $4.5 million in milestone payments.

Immutep retains exclusivity over its own clinical development programs and those it is conducting in conjunction with its other collaboration partners evaluating IMP321 in combination with either chemotherapy (AIPAC trial) or PD-1 / PD-L1 immunotherapy (INSIGHT and TACTI trials).

In addition, Immutep has entered into a supply agreement to provide efti to CYTLIMIC for the manufacture of CYT001 for use in the clinical development and commercialization of the vaccine. Under a service agreement, Immutep will provide technical support services to CYTLIMIC during the development and commercialization of CYT001.

Immutep chief executive officer Marc Voigt said, “We are very excited to be working alongside CYTLIMIC to help evaluate efti as part of an innovative cancer vaccine that has potential as a new therapy. Efti is generating interest globally. Following the agreements with CYTLIMIC, it is now being evaluated as part of three different combination therapy types: as part of a therapeutic cancer vaccine, as a chemo-immunotherapy and in an IO combination, showing its broad therapeutic potential.”

CYTLIMIC president and chief executive officer, Shun Doi, Ph.D. said, “We are delighted with the engagement with Immutep, which will strongly help realize an innovative cancer vaccine-immunotherapy. Our own studies have shown that the combination of LAG-3Ig and Poly IC synergistically boost the efficacy of peptide vaccine, and thus I believe the combination of efti in our vaccine CYT001, which is also unique as an application of artificial intelligence, is an important step to add a new solution in cancer immunotherapy world.”