From Seals to Human Cancers
Our Story
The origin of our story is unique. The technology was first created to contracept a growing seal population that threatened Atlantic Canadian fisheries in the 1980's. The Canadian Ministry of Fisheries tasked researchers from Dalhousie University (Nova Scotia) to create a contraceptive vaccine that, with a single dose, could limit seal population growth. The success of this effort provided the foundation for today’s DPX delivery platform.
Our current DPX®️ delivery platform is based on that original technology, with important differences: the complete removal of water from the delivery system and the addition of specific immune stimulatory components. Our lead compound, maveropepimut-S (MVP-S), exemplifies the advantage that DPX offers. The peptides in MVP-S were previously evaluated in a conventional emulsion vaccine by Merck KGaA, showing limited clinical responses. These peptides were licensed from Merck KGaA and re-formulated in DPX. In numerous clinical trials, MVP-S has shown defined clinical benefit (complete response, partial responses, and durable stable disease) in solid and hematologic cancers.
The Company launched on the Toronto Venture Exchange in 2009 with the ticker designation, "IMV", followed by graduation to the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2014 and a NASDAQ listing and company name change to IMV Inc. in 2018.