Here's the paper:
s41416-021-01342-9.pdfI think the main take-home point of the paper is that in their pre-clinical studies, the B-cell vaccines work individually however there appears to be a synergistic effect by combining the vaccines (PD1-Vaxx + B-Vaxx) and all without observable side effects.
Some nice quotes from the paper:
"Our seminal contributionand hypothesis of B-cell epitope vaccine established overdecades of research resulting in the development of a polyclonalinducedB-cell antibody response will be more effective, or aseffective with improved safety, compared with current monoclonalantibody (mAb) therapies."
"And by giving this vaccine in combination with animmunotherapy drug, we are essentially super-charging andspecifically directing the immune system to target and killcancer cells."
And the final paragraph, "In conclusion, despite the proven benefits of passive immunotherapywith mAbs, active immunisation with peptide vaccinesthat elicit polyclonal antibodies can provide significant advantagesfor the patient’s quality of life. Our careful design ofsuitable antigenic peptides in the HER-2 and PD-1 landscape is atestament to our approach demonstrated to achieve anefficacious safe peptide-based immune therapy. The translationto human clinical trials
brings peptide B-cell cancer vaccines tothe forefront of cancer treatment without causing potentiallyserious hypersensitivity reactions, infusion reactions, and immunecomplex-mediated diseases that inflict substantial mental,biological and financial burdens upon the cancer patients. Thepotential impact going forward like our three-prong combinationsof B-Vaxx and PD1-Vaxx will be fundamental to unlockingthe full potential of immunotherapies that mitigates differentmechanisms of resistance with synergistic effects that may offerimproved efficacy in broader patient populations and inadvanced malignancies with high unmet need."
Reading the paper, I feel that these researchers are deservedly excited about the results they have achieved to date and are eagerly awaiting the results of the transition from pre-clincal research to clinical trials and beyond especially with respect to potential future combination therapies.
(20min delay)