Ovarian cancer remains the deadliest gynecologic cancer, with an estimated 21,010 US diagnoses and 12,450 deaths projected for 2026. The peptide-immunotherapy approaches in development cluster around two programs. BioVaxys's MVP-S is a DPX-formulated five-peptide survivin vaccine combined with pembrolizumab and low-dose cyclophosphamide in the PESCO Phase 1B/2 trial, with additional immune-response data presented May 1, 2026 and the trial accepted for presentation at ASCO 2026 in Chicago.
BriaCell expanded into the indication May 15, 2026 with Bria-OVA+, a next-generation personalized off-the-shelf cell-based immunotherapy. The company licensed ovarian-cancer cell lines from American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) and has commenced development activities to support production for potential clinical use. Bria-OVA+ is designed with additional immune-stimulating components to support enhanced anti-tumor activity, building on the Phase 2 efficacy and tolerability data BriaCell generated in metastatic breast cancer.
Stories here cover trial readouts, manufacturing milestones, and the broader peptide-vaccine and cell-immunotherapy pipeline for gynecologic cancers. See #biovaxys, #bria-ova-plus, and #peptide-vaccine.
Cybrexa Therapeutics' CBX-12, a 26-amino-acid pH-targeted peptide-drug conjugate that delivers a topoisomerase-1 inhibitor selectively to the acidic tumor microenvironment, completed Phase 1 in September 2024 and has moved into Phase 2 for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. The peptide-drug conjugate field continues to broaden beyond the bicyclic-peptide and FAP-activated approaches already covered at ASCO, with smaller direct-acting peptide carriers gaining traction.
BioVaxys presented results from the investigator-initiated PESCO trial of maveropepimut-S (MVP-S) combined with pembrolizumab and low-dose cyclophosphamide in recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer. MVP-S is a DPX-based vaccine built from five survivin-derived peptides plus a T-helper peptide and an innate immune stimulant, designed to drive a cytotoxic T-cell response against survivin, an antigen highly expressed in ovarian tumors but nearly absent in normal tissue.
BriaCell announced May 15 it has expanded its pipeline to include Bria-OVA+, a next-generation personalized off-the-shelf cell-based immunotherapy for ovarian cancer. The company licensed ovarian-cancer cell lines from American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) and has commenced development activities to support production of Bria-OVA+ for potential clinical use. The candidate is designed with additional immune-stimulating components to support enhanced anti-tumor activity, building on Phase 2 efficacy and tolerability data in metastatic breast cancer. The company is targeting ovarian cancer because an estimated 21,010 women in the US will be diagnosed in 2026 and approximately 12,450 will die from the disease, with ovarian cancer remaining the deadliest gynecologic cancer. The expansion adds to the BriaCell platform spanning Bria-IMT (metastatic breast), Bria-OTS+ (next-gen breast and prostate), Bria-PROS+ (prostate), and Bria-BRES+ (breast).
BioVaxys presented additional validation data on May 1 supporting its MVP-S DPX-formulated five-peptide survivin vaccine in combination with checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab and low-dose cyclophosphamide in recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer. The new data extends the immune-response readout from the PESCO Phase 1B/2 program and reinforces the clinical case heading into the company's accepted ASCO 2026 abstract presentation (May 29–June 6, Chicago). MVP-S sits alongside Bicycle Therapeutics' Duravelo-2, BriaCell's Bria-IMT, Greenwich's GP2, Immutep's eftilagimod alfa, and Pfizer's 40+ oncology abstracts on the ASCO 2026 peptide-and-immuno-oncology slate.
BioVaxys announced April 27 that the abstract from the investigator-initiated PESCO trial — an open-label, non-randomized Phase 1B/2 study evaluating the company's MVP-S (maveropepimut-S) DPX-formulated peptide vaccine in combination with pembrolizumab and cyclophosphamide in recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer — has been accepted for presentation at the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago (May 29–June 6). MVP-S is a five-peptide survivin-targeted formulation that pairs the peptides with a T-helper sequence and an innate-immune stimulant; the program tests whether the cytotoxic T-cell response can be combined effectively with checkpoint blockade in platinum-resistant disease.