Evaxion drops solid tumor vaccine program to prioritize brain cancer vaccine candidate

Evaxion Biotech announced it has discontinued development of its next‑generation solid tumor vaccine, EVX‑03, and will redirect resources toward a brain cancer vaccine candidate developed with Duke University.

EVX‑03 was originally planned as a DNA vaccine for non‑small cell lung cancer, with early statements in 2022 highlighting encouraging data across efficacy and immunogenicity measures. However, the anticipated clinical trial never materialized and the asset has been removed from company communications.

The company said insights from the EVX‑03 effort are being applied to its two top‑priority programs, EVX‑05 and EVX‑04. EVX‑05 is described as an off‑the‑shelf therapeutic vaccine for glioblastoma, designed using Evaxion’s AI‑Immunology platform to target endogenous retrovirus‑derived antigens.