NEW YORK – The National Medical Products Administration's Center for Drug Evaluation in China has cleared Likang Life Sciences to begin a clinical trial of its neoantigen-targeted vaccine, LK101, in advanced solid tumors.
The personalized cancer vaccine is designed to deliver mRNA-encoded neoantigen targets specific to a patient's tumor to their dendritic cells. Using this strategy, Likang is hoping to activate patients' own immune cells against their cancers. According to Likang, LK101 is the first personalized neoantigen vaccine and mRNA editing product that the NMPA has permitted to enter into clinical studies.
LK101 is also Likang's first pipeline candidate to reach clinical development. The Beijing-headquartered firm also has T-cell receptor and adoptive cell therapies in preclinical development. The company is using a neoantigen epitope analysis platform, a high-throughput antigen and TCR screening platform, and an in vitro-transcribed mRNA technology platform in its drug development efforts.