The first UK patient has been dosed with a personalised lung cancer vaccine manufactured using Touchlight’s cell-free DNA technology as part of an early-stage clinical trial led by The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre and the University of Liverpool.

The Phase 1 NEOVACC trial is evaluating a personalised vaccine in people with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, with the vaccine designed to target genetic changes identified in each patient’s tumour.

The trial will enrol 10 participants and is primarily assessing the safety of the personalised vaccine, alongside early evidence of whether it can stimulate an immune response against tumour cells.

The vaccine is being manufactured using Touchlight’s proprietary Doggybone DNA (dbDNA) technology, a cell-free, enzymatic approach to DNA production that the company says could help reduce the time and cost associated with manufacturing personalised cancer vaccines.

The first UK patient is being treated at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre. The patient’s advanced lung cancer had only partially responded to standard immunotherapy before they entered the trial.

The NEOVACC programme is supported by a £2.66 million grant from the Medical Research Council’s Development Pathway Funding Scheme.

Personalised vaccine targets individual tumours

Personalised cancer vaccines are designed to stimulate the immune system to recognise tumour-specific characteristics identified through genetic analysis of an individual’s cancer.

The approach being investigated in NEOVACC aims to generate a vaccine tailored to the genetic changes found in each patient’s tumour.

The researchers hope this could help the immune system identify and attack cancer cells that have not been effectively targeted by previous treatments.

The trial is being led by Professor Christian Ottensmeier, consultant oncologist at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre and chief investigator, alongside Professor Natalia Savelyeva, both of whom are part of the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology.

Christian Ottensmeier said: “We are excited to be using Touchlight’s ‘doggybone DNA’ (dbDNA) technology in the creation of this vaccine, which has the potential to be a gamechanger in reducing the speed and cost of production of these important therapies.”

The study is focused on patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, with the researchers investigating whether the personalised vaccine can be produced and administered as part of a clinical treatment programme.

The trial will also assess whether vaccination can trigger an immune response against cancer-specific targets.

Cell-free DNA technology supports vaccine manufacturing

A key challenge for personalised cancer vaccines is the need to develop an individualised product for each patient within a clinically useful timeframe.

Touchlight’s dbDNA technology uses an enzymatic, cell-free manufacturing process to produce DNA without relying on traditional bacterial plasmid manufacturing.

The company said the technology could help streamline the production of personalised vaccine components and shorten manufacturing timelines.

The potential manufacturing advantage is particularly relevant to personalised therapies, where each vaccine may need to be designed and produced according to the genetic characteristics of an individual patient’s tumour.

Jill Makin, chief scientific officer at Touchlight, said: “The doggybone DNA technology provides an ideal means to deliver rapid individual personalised vaccines to this large group of patients with an unmet clinical need and other patients with solid cancers.”

The NEOVACC collaboration brings together clinical, immunology, genetics and manufacturing expertise to investigate whether personalised vaccination can be incorporated into treatment for advanced lung cancer.

If the approach proves safe and generates the intended immune response, the findings could support further studies of personalised cancer vaccines and the manufacturing processes required to produce them.

Trial explores personalised treatment for lung cancer

Around 50,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer each year, according to information provided by the research team.

The NEOVACC trial is investigating a potential treatment approach for patients whose cancers have not responded fully to standard immunotherapy.

Natalia Savelyeva said: “It is a very exciting study because, if successful, this strategy could benefit more than half of patients with advanced lung cancer, and possibly those with other types of cancer as well.”

The researchers will now assess the safety of the personalised vaccine and monitor immune responses among the 10 participants enrolled in the Phase 1 study.

The trial is also intended to provide evidence about the feasibility of producing personalised vaccines for patients with advanced cancer.

For Touchlight, the programme provides a clinical setting in which its dbDNA manufacturing technology can be used to support an individualised cancer therapy.

For the research team, the study represents an opportunity to investigate whether a vaccine tailored to the genetic profile of an individual’s tumour can complement existing cancer immunotherapy.

The first patient said: “The trials team said I was an ideal candidate for this study, so I didn’t hesitate when they asked if I wanted to take part.”

The patient added: “If there was a possibility of me surviving longer, I was happy to be involved with it, and if there is a chance of it helping other people in the future, then that was even better.”

The Phase 1 study will provide early clinical evidence on the safety and immune activity of the personalised vaccine and could help determine whether the approach warrants further development in advanced lung cancer.