About MaxiVax

A clinical stage (phase II) immuno-oncology company that delivers Active Immunization against Cancer

MaxiVAX was founded by Nicolas Mach (Oncology, HUG in Geneva) and Bernard Mach (ex-University of Geneva & Co-founder of Biogen). Some of its key technology is derived from Patrick Aebischer (EFPL, Lausanne). MaxiVAX develops active immunization for personalized anti-cancer vaccination.

The company has successfully completed a first-in-man clinical study (Phase 1), targeting patients with a variety of solid tumors, including pancreas, colon, head and neck, chordoma, prostate and ovarian.A total of 15 patients, all having failed multiple standard therapies, were treated in the study.

MVX-ONCO-1 was safe and well tolerated, with no occurrence of any serious adverse events related to the study drug. No clinically significant local or systemic reactions were reported. The efficacy results were very encouraging.

The benign safety profile seen with MVX-ONCO-1 makes it a good candidate for combination therapies with other anti-tumor agents currently available or in development, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors (PD-1, PD-L1 or CTLA-4). The company has now initiated a Phase 2 clinical study in head and neck cancer and is also preparing additional Phase 2 clinical trials in several solid tumors.

  • MaxiVAX combines a vaccination process against the complete tumor cell with an immune system-boosting agent, specifically GM-CSF, provided in a sustained manner. This triggers an immune response against the patients’ cancer cells that is applicable to multiple cancers.
  • A big advantage of cancer vaccination is that it can lead to a cure rather than prolong life expectancy, like most existing cancer therapies.
  • The first product in development, MVX-ONCO-1, has completed a Phase 1 clinical trial in 15 patients. The study was conducted in Switzerland under the auspices of SwissMedic (the Swiss regulatory authority).
  • Results showed no drug related side effects, in contrast to most current therapies, and encouraging efficacy data.
  • The company has now initiated a multi-center Phase 2 clinical trial in head and neck cancer and is also preparing additional Phase 2 trials in other cancer types.
  • The Management team and Board of Directors have an excellent track record in R&D, business development and management of Pharma and Biotech companies over the past 20 years. The Scientific/Medical Advisory Board is world class with scientists/experts in Immuno-Oncology and drug delivery technology.