Vaccinex, Inc. reported novel findings for its lead product, pepinemab, in a highlighted podium presentation at the Clinical Trials on Alzheimer's Disease (CTAD) Conference in Boston, MA. Vaccinex has previously reported results of a phase 2 trial in Huntington's disease (HD) that suggest pepinemab treatment prevents decline in glucose uptake associated with astrocyte activation and significantly slows cognitive decline as measured by the Huntington's Disease Cognitive Assessment Battery (HD-CAB). The company now reports data indicating that pepinemab treatment significantly reduced blood levels of GFAP, a biomarker of reactive astrocyte protein, providing further evidence of the drug's potential to reverse harmful astrocyte activation and brain inflammation.strocytes are key regulatory cells in the brain that, under conditions of brain injury or disease, switch from their normal supportive physiological functions to inflammatory activity that is believed to aggravate damage to brain tissue.

This transition is marked by release of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), a characteristic astrocyte protein, into blood. Importantly, results from a highly sensitive S-PLEX GFAP immunoassay demonstrated a significant reduction in plasma GFAP levels in HD patients treated with pepinemab compared to those receiving placebo. Elevated GFAP levels in blood have also been found to correlate with Ab amyloid deposits in brain and to be associated with higher risk of dementia and faster rates of cognitive decline in AD.

In oncology, pepinemab is being evaluated in combination with KEYTRUDA®? in the Phase 1b/2 KEYNOTE-B84 study in recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer (HNSCC) and in combination with BAVENCIO®? in a Phase 1b/2 study in patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC).

The oncology clinical program also includes several investigator-sponsored studies in solid tumors including breast cancer and melanoma.