Valo Therapeutics Oy (ValoTx), the innovator of adaptive immunotherapies for cancer and infectious diseases, is delighted to announce that it has been awarded a grant of approximately EUR 2.23 million (around USD 2.42 million) from the European Innovation Council (EIC) for its pioneering PeptiCHIP technology. PeptiCHIP is a ground-breaking technology that rapidly identifies a tumor’s antigen presentation profile to develop personalized immunotherapies, enabling the development of next-generation cancer and infectious disease treatments.
ValoTx has been awarded a 100% non-dilutive grant from the European Innovation Council to fund their project, “Pre-clinical validation and demonstration of PeptiCHIP”. On top of this, they will also receive access to EIC Business Acceleration Services, such as coaching, mentoring, and partnering events, to further support their work.
Otto Kari, VP and Head of ValoTx’s Antigen Business Unit, and EIC projects lead, has expressed his enthusiasm for a major European Institution’s endorsement of the PeptiCHIP technology. This revolutionary microchip has 14,000 microscopic pillars that are able to capture peptides from minute amounts of tumor tissue. The EIC Transition grant provides support for the innovation’s progression towards a real-world application and its commercialization. Kari is proud of this development, stating that it is a great opportunity to transform lives.
ValoTx CEO Paul Higham is thrilled that the European Innovation Council has chosen to fund the development of PeptiCHIP, a crucial element of the company’s clinical development program. This revolutionary technology will allow them to identify relevant antigens for their own clinical development and for partnerships with other innovative companies. PeptiCHIP and their lead platform PeptiCRAd will enable them to create cost-effective and practical personalized cancer immunotherapies.
Tumor neoantigens are a powerful weapon in the fight against cancer, as they are uniquely expressed by tumor cells and can trigger an effective immune response. However, the methods used to identify these antigens are lengthy, complex, and resource-intensive. It is essential to develop more efficient methods to identify tumor neoantigens so that they can be harnessed to their full potential in the fight against cancer.
PeptiCHIP, an IP acquisition from the University of Helsinki, is revolutionizing the field of immunotherapy. This innovative microfluidic device, coupled with an advanced peptide prioritization algorithm, can identify the most relevant neoantigens to stimulate the immune system and improve the efficacy of immunotherapy. PeptiCHIP can be adapted and used in standard biopsy clinical workflows to identify antigens related to any disease, offering new possibilities for developing tailored therapies with improved patient outcomes. This groundbreaking technology holds the potential to revolutionize the field of immunotherapy and revolutionize patient care.
About ValoTx
Valo Therapeutics Oy, located in Helsinki, is a pioneering immunotherapy company that is utilizing antigen-coated oncolytic viruses and vaccine vectors as novel treatments against cancer and infectious diseases. Their cutting-edge lead platform, PeptiCRAd (Peptide-coated Conditionally Replicating Adenovirus), was developed from the laboratory of Professor Vincenzo Cerullo at the University of Helsinki. PeptiCRAd-1, the company’s premier product, consists of their virus VALO-D102 coated with MAGE-A3 and NY-ESO-1 peptides, and is capable of activating systemic anti-tumor cytotoxic T-cell immunity without the need for multiple genetically modified viruses.
Neoantigen strategies such as PeptiCHIP, PeptiENV, and PeptiVAX are being developed by the company to revolutionize cancer treatments. PeptiCHIP utilizes microchip technology to quickly detect a tumor’s ‘fingerprints’ for personalized immunotherapy. Meanwhile, PeptiENV is designed to enhance the therapeutic response to oncolytic viruses, and PeptiVAX is an anti-infectives vaccine platform. These innovative treatments are paving the way for more effective, personalized treatments for cancer and other infectious diseases.