Evaxion A/S (“Evaxion”), a clinical-stage TechBio company developing novel vaccines with its pioneering AI-Immunology™ platform, announces new data demonstrating the platform’s ability to also potentially develop vaccines for glioblastoma (brain cancer).
The data, which will be presented at the AACR Annual Meeting in San Diego, California, on April 22, 2026, is another confirmation of how AI-Immunology™ can be applied across a range of different cancers as well as other diseases.
Evaxion has collaborated with researchers at Duke University School of Medicine to identify endogenous retrovirus (ERV)-derived antigens in tumor samples from multiple glioblastoma patients to include in vaccines to treat the deadly brain cancer, for which limited therapeutic options exist.
ERVs are tumor antigens from the dark genome. These antigens are present in tumors but absent in normal tissue, making them highly attractive targets for cancer vaccines. AI-Immunology™ has unique capabilities in identifying ERVs and this opens a whole new source of antigens, which can potentially greatly improve the efficacy of cancer vaccines for glioblastoma patients, who generally have few neoantigens to target due to low mutational burden.
In addition to the ERV-derived antigens, we also identified neoantigens of sufficient quality to include in a vaccine in the majority of patients
We are excited by these new findings confirming that AI-Immunology™ is a unique platform for designing vaccines for many different cancer types, combining neoantigens with other types of antigens. This holds great potential for improving vaccine efficacy, and we are looking forward to discussing the data with both scientific stakeholders and potential business partners at the AACR Annual Meeting.”
Birgitte Rønø, CSO, Evaxion
Strong Proof-of-Concept
The new findings include bioinformatic analysis profiling ERV expression in patient tumor samples and vaccine design feasibility assessment as well as experimental data demonstrating immunologic responses of the discovered ERV antigens. They show that ERVs constitute a relevant antigen source that may overcome limitations imposed by low mutational burden, providing a strong Proof-of-Concept for personalized vaccines incorporating ERV-derived antigens.
“There is a dire need for better treatment options for glioblastoma, which is refractory to immunotherapy due to low mutational burden and paucity of canonical neoantigens. We are encouraged to have found a new tumor-specific antigen source in ERVs that can be targeted by vaccines alongside mutation-derived epitopes,” says Professor Mustafa Khasraw, MD, who studies tumor immunobiology at Duke University School of Medicine.
AACR Presentation Details
Abstract title: Endogenous retrovirus-derived neoantigens enable a personalized cancer vaccine strategy for glioblastoma
Poster#: 6975
Session category: Immunology
Session title: Novel Models of Immunotherapy Response
Location: Poster section 8
Date/Time: April 22, 2026, at 9 am-12 pm CST/16-19 CET
Presenter: Megan Benz, Duke University Medical Center