CryptoMap proves its value as Epitopea publishes new cancer treatment findings

Montreal and Cambridge-based cancer immunotherapy company Epitopea has seen its study of novel immunotherapy targets in melanoma and NSCLC (non-small cell lung cancer) published in Nature Cancer.

The paper, produced with academic collaborators at Canada’s McGill University, University of Liege in Belgium, and Switzerland’s University of Lausanne, validates the potential of Epitopea’s CryptoMap platform to identify novel treatments for cancer.

CryptoMap identified 589 non-redundant tumor antigens (TAs) in cutaneous melanoma and NSCLC. Significantly, only 1 per cent of the actionable TAs were derived from mutated sequences or mTAs. Of the 99 per cent of TAs remaining, approximately 37 per cent (n=220) of TAs identified were Cryptigens. These Cryptigens are immunogenic, shared among tumor samples, and could contribute to immune checkpoint blockade responses, supporting their utility in immune targeting across the tumor landscape.

“The data from this latest publication from our collaborators at UdeM further validates the potential benefit of CryptoMap and our transformative approach to treating cancer,” said Epitopea’s CEO, Alan C Rigby. “We believe our Cryptigens offer significant competitive advantages over current treatment approaches that have focused solely on mTAs.

“As illustrated, our approach has the potential to stimulate the immune system to precisely recognise and destroy cancer cells more rapidly and effectively, which we believe will translate into durable patient responses in these indications.

“This latest research further strengthens our understanding of the target space amenable for the development of cancer immunotherapy treatments. In particular, the fact that only 1 per cent of tumor antigens are derived from mutated sequences highlights the potential value of exploring unmutated sequences across the cancer landscape.”