BioCentury
ARTICLE | Emerging Company Profile

Redirecting viral immunity

How Revitope's APEC technology redirects viral immunity against cancer

June 20, 2016 7:00 AM UTC

Revitope Oncology Inc. is developing a novel antibody conjugate technology that aims to harness the body's naturally potent T cell response against cytomegalovirus and redirect it against cancer cells. The company's candidates consist of antibody peptide epitope complexes, or APECs, that conjugate an antibody targeting a tumor-specific antigen to a peptide that contains a protease cleavage site and a CMV epitope.

According to President and CEO Julie Cherrington, 70-90% of adults have a natural immunity against CMV. The immune response against CMV is up to a thousand times stronger than is typically observed against cancer, with up to 50% of T cells being directed against CMV at any one time. ...