# Development of a Therapeutic SAPNANO-ESO Vaccine for Prostate Cancer

> **NIH NIH R44** · IMMUNOVA THERAPEUTICS, LLC · 2023 · $1,000,000

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Prostate cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths of men in the United States and worldwide.
Immunotherapy is a promising approach, but has not proven successful yet in prostate cancer. Hence, metastatic
prostate cancer remains an important unmet medical need. To address this unmet medical need, we recently
developed a novel vaccine technology, called self-assembled peptide nanoparticles (SAPNANO) vaccines.
Immunova Therapeutics is a startup company with the mission to further develop the SAPNANO-ESO vaccine
product (or IMT-001) for the treatment of NY-ESO-1 positive cancer, including prostate cancer. This IMT-001
product induces robust antitumor responses, resulting in marked inhibition or even elimination of prostate tumor
cells in a mouse model. The key features of the ITM-001 product include intravenous delivery without dendritic
cells and the ability to induce robust and therapeutic antitumor immunity, which is distinguished from other
vaccine technologies that fail to induce therapeutic immunity. Increasing evidence suggests that the maintenance
and expansion of vaccine-induced T cells may be inhibited by multiple suppressive mechanisms at tumor sites,
including the intrinsic co-inhibitory PD-1/PD-L1 signaling, Treg cells, tumor-associated macrophages and
MDSCs, thus posing major obstacles for effective vaccine and immunotherapy. It is likely that IMT-001 vaccine-
induced antitumor immunity could be further enhanced by anti-PD-1 blockade. In this application, we will
determine the stability of IMT-001 vaccine product in vitro and optimal doses and delivery routes for therapeutic
antitumor immunity in mouse tumor models (Aim 1), conduct investigational new drug (IND)-enabling studies of
the biodistribution and pharmacological toxicities (Aim 2), and finally test whether IMT-001 vaccine-induced
therapeutic antitumor immunity can be further enhanced by of PD-1 blockade therapy (Aim 3). Upon completion
of the proposed studies, we should have completed the IND-enabling studies and are well positioned to submit
an IND for a phase I clinical trial. This SBIR support is critically important for Immunova Therapeutics to
accelerate the development of new cancer vaccine product/drug for the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer,
as well as other NY-ESO-1 positive cancers.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10662536
- **Project number:** 5R44CA275489-02
- **Recipient organization:** IMMUNOVA THERAPEUTICS, LLC
- **Principal Investigator:** Yicheng Wang
- **Activity code:** R44 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $1,000,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-08-01 → 2026-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10662536

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10662536, Development of a Therapeutic SAPNANO-ESO Vaccine for Prostate Cancer (5R44CA275489-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10662536. Licensed CC0.

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