Our DPX® Delivery Technology
At IMV, we have created a unique non-aqueous, lipid-based delivery technology called DPX, which can incorporate an array of bioactive molecules into a single formulation to create long-lasting, targeted immune responses that mitigate disease without severe toxicity.
The versatility of the DPX technology is remarkable. It allows us to package and deliver a wide array of bioactive cargo including peptides, whole proteins, RNA, DNA, small molecules, and virus-like particles.
DPX has the capability of driving targeted and durable immune responses. The non-aqueous DPX formulation prevents cargo from leaching into tissue, mimicking the natural flow of antigens through the immune system to orchestrate a robust anti-cancer immune attack. This unique feature also insulates cargo from non-specific interactions, ensuring that DPX is well tolerated and can be administered across many doses to ensure persistent immune education.
How Our DPX Technology Works
Delivery Matters
Historical Cancer Vaccines Have Failed to Deliver
Cancer vaccines have historically failed to provide clinical benefits for cancer patients. These failed cancer vaccine efforts were limited by the nature of their formulations: unable to accommodate diverse cargo, unable to deliver that cargo to specific immune cells, and unable to be delivered to patients repeatedly over time. Once injected, these prior vaccine efforts leached cargo unsystematically into tissue, preventing the cargo from achieving a specific and targeted immune response.
Our DPX Platform Delivers on the Promise of Cancer Vaccines
Thanks to the uniquely oil-based formulation, DPX is designed to prevent release of packaged bioactive agents into tissues. Rather, DPX insulates its cargo from leaching into surrounding tissues, ensuring that the cargo can only be taken up via active engulfment, a function of specialized immune cells called Antigen Presenting Cells (APCs). APCs work to clear the DPX product from its site of injection over time, trafficking DPX and its bioactive cargo to the lymph nodes. At the lymph nodes, APCs interact specifically with and activate other immune cells, notably T and B cells. In this manner, DPX enables the persistent exposure of immune educating cargo (i.e. antigens and immune stimulants) to incite a sustained, multi-cellular immune response.
When formulated with tumor-associated antigens, DPX instructs a targeted immune response to cancer cells that express that specific antigen. DPX-based immunotherapies maintain antigens at the injection site for prolonged interaction with the immune system, induce a robust expansion of antigen-specific killer T cells that inhibit tumor growth in preclinical models.
In clinical trials, our lead DPX-based asset, maveropepimut-S (MVP-S, previously named DPX-Survivac), administered alone and in combination with other agents, has shown robust, persistent immune responses to the cancer antigen survivin, that correspond with defined, durable clinical benefit in patients with hematologic or solid cancers. In these studies, MVP-S was administrated in very low doses, once every two months and was well-tolerated, with only mild to moderate injection site reactions as the primary adverse event. Translational analyses of patient tumor tissues have revealed that treatment with MVP-S incites the infiltration of tumors by T and B cells. Recent research has also demonstrated the involvement of Natural Killer cells in the MVP-S mediated anti-cancer immune response.
Long-acting delivery
Our DPX delivery platform is made in a lipid-in-oil formulation that allows for the sustained availability of bioactive molecules, specifically Antigen Presenting Cells, over time and does not leak its cargo into surrounding tissue.
Broad Therapeutic Application
The lipids used in the DPX delivery platform allow it to package a variety of bioactive cargo, including peptides, whole proteins, RNA, DNA, small molecules, and virus-like particles in a single formulation.
Physiologic Immune Activation
The DPX delivery platform incites engulfment of its cargo by Antigen Presenting Cells, which in turn activates a specific immune response mediated by T and B cells in the lymph node. The introduction of cargo to the immune system in this manner, mimics the natural exposure of antigens to the immune system.
Immune Cell Education
By simultaneously delivering key stimulants to the immune system in a single formulation (antigens, T-helper peptides, innate immune activators), DPX can induce the generation of robust, persistent and specific immune responses confirmed by specific T, B and NK cell activation in clinical studies.
The DPX Delivery Platform Can Enhance The Clinical Potency of Immune Targeted Therapies
We are actively evaluating opportunities for other applications of the DPX technology to advance the development of our immuno-oncology product candidates and to initiate potential new programs.
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