Voltron Therapeutics, Inc., a Lucius Partners Company, Announces Initiation of Key Preclinical Study of VTX-067 in Immuno-Oncology

Lucius Partners, LLC has reported that its portfolio company, Voltron Therapeutics, Inc., had announced the initiation of a preclinical study of its novel vaccine candidate VTX-067 in an immune-oncology model. This study, if successful, may support filing of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the US Food and Drug Administration.

Initiation of this study was the culmination of a tremendous effort by our highly skilled team of scientists, physicians and manufacturing experts to design and manufacture VTX-067 to bolster the immune system against a validated oncology target. Results are expected in the coming months.

Previous preclinical studies have evaluated the self-assembling vaccine technology, which consists of an immune activating MTBhsp70-avidin component and an antigen targeting biotinylated immunogenic peptides, for its impact on immune response relative to controls or peptides alone. Results have demonstrated that the SAV construct significantly increased both helper and cytotoxic T cell responses to the vaccine targeted antigens, when compared to controls. These proof-of-concept efforts utilizing the SAV platform will drive continued development of both oncology and infectious disease targeted vaccines VTX-067 was developed using Voltron’s vaccine platform, which was designed by scientists at the Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center (VIC) at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard Medical School, to meet an important unmet medical need in the treatment of certain cancers.

“Voltron is excited to advance our vaccine candidate to this important step in product development,” said Pat Gallagher, Chief Executive Officer, Voltron Therapeutics, Inc. “We have taken exceptional science and pressure tested it with a very rigorous clinical and regulatory assessment process. I am delighted with how Voltron’s multifunctional team integrated the outstanding research from the VIC, our internal development and operating group and TD2, our CRO partner, to identify ideal patient populations and optimize the ultimate targeting peptide selection and protocols. We aim to file an IND for at least one cancer indication in the coming months."

James Ahern, Founding Partner, Lucius Partners, LLC added, "Advancing development of VTX-067 has the potential to create value for our shareholders and stakeholders and significant potential treatment solutions/options for patients. This is another testament to the quality of the companies we continue to incubate, the operating teams we establish and the unique investment opportunities they present our investors. We will continue to fully vet new opportunities moving forward, focusing on our ability to add value for our companies and investors."