Elicio Therapeutics (Nasdaq: ELTX), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focusing on treating solid tumors with cancer vaccines, celebrates 13 years of operations. The company was founded in 2011 with the mission to leverage novel MIT research for cancer vaccine development. Now enrolling a Phase 2 trial with its lymph node-targeted mKRAS cancer vaccine, Elicio hopes to redefine disease treatment and prevention for millions of patients.
Biotechnology is a rapidly growing sector that continues advancing alongside technological breakthroughs. Immunotherapy, a specific niche within biotechnology, also represents the forefront of medical innovation. As the number of individuals facing diseases increases, so does the demand for effective and safe immunotherapies. Currently, the global cancer immunotherapy market sits at $125 billion in valuation and is poised to expand quickly.
Historically, cancer vaccines have not been very successful in targeting and eradicating cancer. However, Elicio Therapeutics is hoping to disrupt this trend with the Amphiphile (AMP) platform that delivers immunotherapies to the lymph nodes to produce large cancer-fighting T-cell responses. The company is currently using this technology to test the efficacy of the ELI-002 cancer vaccine with mKRAS-driven cancers and is working to accelerate the progress of other vaccines in its pipeline.
As Elicio Therapeutics continues its trials, the company’s goal is to produce vaccines, immunomodulators, and adjuvants that help patients produce the best cells for fighting various cancers, and potentially prevent cancer from returning.
Since going public through a reverse merger in June 2023, Elicio Therapeutics has remained focused on beginning its Phase 2 trial and eventually exploring the treatment of other cancers. Unlike competitors with similar goals, Elicio Therapeutics embraces an off-the-shelf methodology, rather than a personalized custom-made vaccine for each patient. The company has been able to do so because of the promising research its founders championed. As a result, targeting cancers without personalized patient-specific criteria would enable mass production and distribution of immunotherapies, greatly reducing costs and improving availability to treat a larger number of patients.
Elicio Therapeutics has received acclaim for leveraging the body’s natural immune response with its cancer vaccines. Professionals in academia and medicine are equally interested in learning more about how the company’s vaccines can treat some of the most aggressive cancers. With this thought in mind, Elicio plans to continue addressing mKRAS cancers and in the future potentially evaluate preventative care to stop cancer from forming.
One of the most essential elements of a biotechnology company is the accessibility of capital. Since its inception, Elicio Therapeutics has been funded by private non-venture capital investors such as high net-worth individuals and family offices. The company regularly speaks with investors about the need for additional funding to support clinical operations and product development.
Within the next five years, Elicio Therapeutics plans to develop trials for ELI-002 to be tested in colorectal and lung cancer patients. The company also envisions the ELI-007 and ELI-008 vaccines reaching their Phase 1 trial. As these milestones are achieved, Elicio Therapeutics hopes to have the data necessary to apply its proprietary technology to several cancer patient populations and unlock the potential for new treatment solutions.
“Despite decades of advances in oncology, cancer still afflicts millions worldwide, and that number is only unfortunately expected to rise over time,” said Robert Connelly, Chief Executive Officer at Elicio Therapeutics. “The broad applicability of our AMP platform has a huge potential to address the major challenges that continue to plague the field of immuno-oncology. Our immediate focus is to close the gap on the unmet need for patients with KRAS mutations, present in 25% of all solid tumors, that run a high risk of the cancer returning after surgery.”
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Elicio Therapeutics
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