Briacell says MOA validated in cancer journal

Executive Summary

• Briacell Therapeutics Corp. announced the publication of research validating the mechanism of action for its next-generation personalized off-the-shelf immunotherapy, BRIA-OTS+™.
• The study, conducted in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), was published in the peer-reviewed journal JCI Insight.
• The findings confirm that partial HLA matching enables effective tumor-antigen presentation while planned HLA mismatching drives robust CD4 helper responses, aligning with the company's pipeline strategy.
• Management stated these data are consistent with encouraging clinical results recently reported in the company's phase 1/2a study in metastatic breast cancer.

Key Details

• Publication Details:
  • Journal: JCI Insight (highly rated peer-reviewed journal).
  • Title: "Enhancing dendritic cell cancer vaccine by allogeneic MHC class II expression and Treg depletion."
  • Company Reference: 189024-INS-RG-RV-4.
• Scientific Findings:
  • The study demonstrated that semi-allogeneic dendritic-cell vaccines recruit alloreactive CD4 T-cell help through mismatched MHC Class II molecules.
  • This mechanism strengthens antigen-specific CD8 T-cell responses against tumors.
  • Core design principle validated: Partial HLA matching enables effective tumor-antigen presentation; planned HLA mismatching drives robust CD4 helper responses.
• Clinical Context:
  • BRIA-OTS+ is a next-generation, off-the-shelf personalized immunotherapy based on lead candidate Bria-IMT.
  • Currently being evaluated in a phase 1/2a study in patients with metastatic recurrent breast cancer.
  • The trial includes monotherapy dose escalation and checkpoint inhibition combination dose expansion cohorts.
  • The company has recently progressed into the dose expansion phase.
• Collaboration: Research conducted in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the United States federal government's principal agency for cancer research and training.

Notable Quotes

• Jay A. Berzofsky, MD, PhD, Senior Investigator of NCI: "These findings help us better understand the anti-tumour effects of Bria-OTS+ in cancer patients... The study demonstrated that semi-allogeneic dendritic-cell vaccines recruit alloreactive CD4 T-cell help through mismatched MHC Class II molecules, which in turn strengthens antigen-specific CD8 T-cell responses against tumours."
• Miguel Lopez-Lago, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, Briacell: "This publication validates the core design principle behind Bria-OTS+: partial HLA matching enables effective tumour-antigen presentation, while planned HLA mismatching drives robust CD4 helper responses... These findings are directly aligned with Briacell's pipeline of allogeneic immunotherapies, reinforcing our strategy to deliver powerful and scalable treatments for cancer patients."
• Dr. William V. Williams, President and CEO, Briacell: "These data are consistent with the encouraging clinical results we recently reported in our phase 1/2a study in metastatic breast cancer and provide important insights into the mechanism of action of our cellular immunotherapy platform technology."