Vaxil Initiates Pre-Clinical Study in New Oncology Target

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NESS-ZIONA, Israel, Oct. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- VAXIL BIO LTD. (“Vaxil” or the “Company”) (TSX VENTURE: VXL), an innovative immunotherapy biotech company specializing in cancer and infectious diseases, is pleased to announce the initiation of the pre-clinical program for ImMucin in combination with the E-selectin binding polymer-based therapeutic (“P-Esbp”), which Vaxil licensed for development and commercialization from BGN Technologies, the technology transfer company of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel (“BGU”).

The pre-clinical program will be led by Prof. Ayelet David from BGU to assess the potential for ImMucin and the P-Esbp separately and in combination for the treatment of solid tumors including breast and ovarian cancer.

“We are excited to partner with Vaxil on this preclinical program and look forward to providing meaningful results towards advancing this unique therapeutic approach for arresting cancer, as well as inflammatory diseases,” said Prof. David.

P-Esbp was invented by Prof. Ayelet David, Head of the Drug Targeting and Nanomedicine Laboratory, Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Prof. Gonen Ashkenasy from the Department of Chemistry and their joint PhD student, Yosi Shamay, all from the BGU.

“I am proud to advance our pre-clinical oncology research program, in conjunction with our research partner Prof. Ayelet David and her team at Ben Gurion University. I believe we can have significant impact in cancer immunotherapy. This program will run over the course of the next year and a half, after which we will evaluate results and the potential for clinical trials using ImMucin / P-Esbp alone and in combination. We look forward to working on this oncology program with Prof. David, in addition to continuing to advance CorVax, our potential COVID-19 Vaccine,” said David Goren, Vaxil’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and continued, “The BGU research will also aim to confirm the potential of ImMucin in oncology care following the successful clinical trial done several years ago.”

P-Esbp has been shown to interfere with E-selectin-mediated interactions, thus blocking leukocyte and cancer cells recruitment to inflamed and cancerous tissues, which reduced colonization of circulating cancer cells in secondary organs. In addition, it was also shown to inhibit leukocyte recruitment and inflammation in animal models of liver injury and atherosclerosis. These results combined demonstrate the promising therapeutic potential of E-selectin targeted therapy for inhibiting inflammation and arresting cancer disease progression as well as other diseases where inflammation plays a role.