Survival data for lead vaccine SCIB1 strengthens; new data demonstrates potential benefits of combining ImmunoBody® vaccines with checkpoint inhibition

Scancell Holdings plc, (‘Scancell’ or the ‘Company’) the developer of novel immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer, announces results for the year ended 30 April 2015.

Highlights during the period:

• Positive data showing highly encouraging survival times from the on-going Phase 1/2 clinical trial in patients with Stage III/IV melanoma treated with the SCIB1 ImmunoBody
• Adjuvant melanoma* represents a significant new market opportunity for SCIB1
  • All 20 resected patients in the Phase 1/2 clinical trial are still alive
  • SCIB1 may offer protection from recurrence of melanoma without serious side effects
• Data supporting the rationale for combining Scancell's ImmunoBody® vaccines with checkpoint inhibitors has continued to strengthen
• Pre-clinical data demonstrates that combining SCIB1 and SCIB2 with checkpoint inhibition (PD-1 and CTLA-4 blockade), produced enhanced tumour destruction and longer survival times than when either treatment was used alone
• SCIB2 is ready for further pre-clinical development as a potential immunotherapy for tumours expressing the NY-ESO-1 antigen
• Scancell received US patent for its DNA ImmunoBody® platform technology, following grant of counterparts in Australia, China and Japan
• Modi-1, Scancell’s lead vaccine from Moditope® platform, is on schedule to start clinical trials in Q4 2016
• Two new Moditope® protein targets have been identified
• Loss for the year of £2,414,630 (2014: loss £2,222,954) as a result of expected additional expenditure on the SCIB1 clinical trials and the further development of Moditope®
• Group cash balance at 30 April 2015 was £3,059,001 (30 April 2014: £5,566,234)

*Patients without measurable disease following surgery but where there remains a high risk of relapse

Dr. Richard Goodfellow, Joint CEO of Scancell, said: “We continue to make significant progress with both of our platform technologies and pipeline. We remain excited with the data arising from our SCIB1 Phase 1/2 clinical trial in patients with Stage III/IV melanoma. In particular, the increased survival times and low incidence of adverse events in those patients with resected tumour demonstrates that SCIB1 has the potential to be an effective new treatment option in patients with adjuvant melanoma. With recruitment now closed we expect to report headline results from this open label trial around the end of this year. Additionally, evidence is emerging that our ImmunoBody® vaccines may also be effectively deployed as part of a combination therapy to treat late stage melanoma patients. Our second platform technology, Moditope®, has also yielded its first development candidate, Modi-1, which is on track to start clinical trials in 2016 and two further Moditope® protein targets have been identified.

“We remain confident in the prospects for the Company and its differentiated pipeline of cancer immunotherapies as we continue to evaluate all potential opportunities for increasing shareholder value.”

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Notes to Editors

About Scancell
Scancell is developing novel immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer based on its ImmunoBody® and Moditope® technology platforms.

Scancell’s first ImmunoBody®, SCIB1 is being developed for the treatment of melanoma and is being evaluated in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial. Data from the trial demonstrate that SCIB1, when used as monotherapy, has a marked effect on tumour load, produces a melanoma-specific immune response and highly encouraging survival trend without serious side effects. In patients with resected disease there is increasing evidence to suggest that SCIB1 may delay or prevent disease recurrence.

Scancell’s ImmunoBody® vaccines target dendritic cells and stimulate both parts of the cellular immune system: the helper cell system where inflammation is stimulated at the tumour site and the cytotoxic Tlymphocyte or CTL response where immune system cells are primed to recognise and kill specific cells.

Pre-clinical data on a combination of SCIB1 or SCIB2 and checkpoint inhibition (blockade of the PD-1 or CTLA-4 immune checkpoint pathways) have shown enhanced tumour destruction and significantly longer survival times than when either treatment was used alone.

Scancell has also identified and patented a series of modified epitopes that stimulate the production of killer CD4+ T cells that destroy tumours without toxicity. The Directors believe that the Moditope® platform could play a major role in the development of safe and effective cancer immunotherapies in the future.