The first phase of clinical trials of a peptide cancer vaccine is planned to begin in 2027. The trials will be conducted directly with the participation of patients: such drugs, according to the company, are not studied on healthy volunteers. This was announced by Kira Zaslavskaya, Director of New Products at "Promomed".
Currently, the company, together with international partners, has a polyvalent multi-target vaccine in the preclinical stage. This is not an RNA vaccine, but a peptide development.
The drug will be aimed at treating various tumors. The company expects to enter the first phase of clinical trials next year.
A peptide cancer vaccine is a way to "show" the immune system characteristic fragments of a tumor. Short protein fragments found in cancer cells are introduced into the body. After this, immune cells should learn to recognize such signs and attack tumor cells.
This approach differs from an RNA vaccine in that the body is given ready-made protein fragments. An RNA vaccine works differently: it brings an "instruction" to cells, according to which they themselves temporarily produce the desired protein or part of it. Then the immune system also learns to recognize it.
The goal of both approaches is similar - to help the body notice the tumor and launch a precise immune response against it.