Touchlight Genetics partners to develop head and neck cancer vaccine

Cancer Research UK, the University of Southampton and London-based biotech Touchlight Genetics, today (July 29) announced a new clinical development partnership to progress a therapeutic DNA vaccine, TGL-100, into an early phase clinical trial targeting head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

HNSCC is the UK’s eighth most common cancer, but treatment options are limited and around 4,000 of those affected in the UK die each year. Whilst existing immunotherapies have a huge impact for a small number of cancer patients, it is hoped that targeted cancer vaccines could extend this benefit to many more people.

DNA cancer vaccines encode antigens from cancer cells that prime the immune system, waking up immune cells that can tackle cancer. These therapies have shown significant promise in clinical studies. However, to date, they have been based on circular plasmid DNA, which means their use is limited by slow and expensive manufacturing.