Elicio will begin a Phase I trial testing the efficacy of combining their KRAS-targeted cancer vaccine with chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer. Elicio's cancer vaccine is based on approach originally developed in the laboratory of former Koch Institute faculty member Darrell Irvine, where "amphiphile" particles hitchhike on albumin molecules in the bloodstream to the lymph nodes, where they teach the immune system to fight cancer.
The new trial, with support from the Lustgarten Foundation and Break Through Cancer, builds on robust results from an earlier Phase 1 trial testing the vaccine following surgery and chemotherapy, and will evaluate whether stronger results can be obtained when the vaccine is administered together with a chemotherapy. Researchers will test the efficacy of combining the KRAS-targeted immunotherapy with chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer, as well as explore the biology of therapy response and seek additional .