Pancreatic cancer is one of the higher-stakes targets for peptide cancer vaccines, given the limited efficacy of conventional chemotherapy and checkpoint inhibitors in the disease. The lead program is BioNTech and Genentech's autogene cevumeran, with long-term survival data continuing to define the category.
Other programs covered on this site: Leukogene Therapeutics' M2T platform — designed to harness MHC class II-engaging mechanisms to redirect immune response against acute myeloid leukemia and pancreatic cancer — with two AACR 2026 posters; ELI-002 amphiphile-peptide KRAS vaccine work in KRAS-mutant pancreatic cancer; and academic peptide-receptor and peptide-drug conjugate programs in PDAC.
Stories here cover trial readouts, AACR and ASCO presentations, and the immunotherapy pipeline. See #peptide-vaccine, #pdac, and #oncology.
A Phase 1/2 study (NCT07637786) of ONVAX-01, a personalized peptide nanovaccine, in combination with an anti-PD-1 antibody and standard-of-care chemotherapy in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer began recruiting in late June 2026. The trial design has participants receive doses of the nanovaccine along with intravenous infusions of an anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor plus chemotherapy, with serial imaging and blood-marker monitoring for tumor response. ONVAX-01 sits in the same broad therapeutic space as Elicio Therapeutics' ELI-002 7P (which missed its Phase 2 AMPLIFY-7P primary disease-free survival endpoint on June 15) but with a different delivery vehicle (nanoparticle self-assembly versus amphiphile-modified CpG oligonucleotide adjuvant). KRAS mutations drive approximately 90% of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cases and 50% of colorectal cancers, making KRAS-targeting peptide vaccines one of the highest-impact unmet targets in solid-tumor oncology. The peptide nanovaccine modality has roots in 2022 case-report literature on neoantigen nanovaccine immunotherapy in advanced pancreatic cancer and broader nanovaccine work using DP7-C antimicrobial peptide as carrier-plus-adjuvant.
Elicio Therapeutics announced June 15, 2026 that the randomized Phase 2 AMPLIFY-7P study of ELI-002 7P (a 7-peptide formulation targeting the seven most common KRAS mutations, combined with the ELI-004 amphiphile-modified CpG oligonucleotide adjuvant) in patients with adjuvant mKRAS-driven pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma did not meet its pre-specified primary disease-free survival (DFS) endpoint in the intent-to-treat population. Post-hoc landmark analyses, however, showed a consistent 14% absolute DFS benefit during active treatment at both 3 and 6 months, with treatment-arm separation persisting through 9 months — suggesting early clinical activity that waned over time. Elicio is refining its Phase 3 development strategy based on the data. The 7P formulation extends the 2-peptide ELI-002 2P AMPLIFY-201 program covered in this site's April 29 digest (Nature Medicine publication, durable T-cell responses, median RFS not reached vs 3.02 months in non-responders). KRAS mutations drive roughly 90% of pancreatic cancers and 50% of colorectal cancers, making the KRAS peptide vaccine class one of the highest-impact targets in solid-tumor oncology.
ImPact Biotech presented first-cohort Phase 1 data at ASCO 2026 (May 30, 9:00 AM CT, GI Cancer session) on intra-arterial padeliporfin vascular-targeted photodynamic therapy (VTP) in locally advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (LA-PDAC). The light-dose escalation study showed a consistent tolerability profile with early signs of clinical efficacy, including potential to convert patients with unresectable stage III tumors to surgically resectable candidates — a meaningful endpoint in pancreatic cancer where surgical resection is the only curative path. Padeliporfin VTP is a minimally invasive drug-device combination: the bacteriochlorophyll-derived photosensitizer is activated by non-thermal laser light delivered via optical fibers, producing selective tumor ablation in the tumor microenvironment. ImPact's lead program is the Phase 3 ENLIGHTED trial in low-grade upper-tract urothelial carcinoma (updated data at AUA 2026 in May). The pancreatic data extends the VTP platform into one of oncology's hardest-to-treat solid tumors.
The New England Journal of Medicine published Revolution Medicines' daraxonrasib (RMC-6236) Phase 1/2 data in previously treated advanced RAS-mutated pancreatic adenocarcinoma in May 2026. In the subgroup of 26 patients with G12 mutations treated at the 300 mg dose, objective response rate hit 35% with median progression-free survival 8.5 months and median overall survival 13.1 months — outcomes meaningfully better than the historical 5-month median OS in second-line PDAC. The mechanism is unusual: daraxonrasib is an oral small molecule that acts as a molecular glue, recruiting the peptidyl-prolyl isomerase cyclophilin A to form a tri-complex with active GTP-bound mutant RAS, blocking effector binding and downstream signaling. The drug targets KRAS, HRAS, and NRAS in the on-state — a mechanistically distinct approach from Chugai's LUNA18 cyclic peptide RAS inhibitor. FDA granted Expanded Access. The cyclophilin A-mediated mechanism puts peptidyl-prolyl chemistry at the center of a major oncology readout.
Lisata Therapeutics filed a May 3 SEC 8-K disclosing an Amendment and Waiver to the Merger Agreement with Kuva Labs Inc. The original definitive agreement (March 6, 2026) priced the all-cash tender at $5.00/share plus a $1.00 contingent value right per share — payable if a regulatory filing for certepetide is submitted or accepted in any jurisdiction within seven years. Closing is expected in Q2 2026. Certepetide is Lisata's cyclic peptide CendR-platform tumor-microenvironment modulator; the lead Phase 2 ASCEND trial in metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma reported encouraging Cohort A data, and a Phase 1b/2a trial in locally advanced non-resectable PDAC is also active. Kuva is a cancer imaging company expanding into therapeutics through the deal.
Bicycle Therapeutics confirmed in its AACR 2026 update that the company began enrolling patients in a Phase 2 study of nuzefatide pevedotin (BT5528) in adults with recurrent pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma in March 2026, with the first patient successfully dosed in April. The bicyclic peptide-drug conjugate targets EphA2-expressing tumor cells. Earlier Phase 1/2 data — through a February 9, 2026 cutoff — showed 40% confirmed ORR in EphA2+ urothelial cancer patients on nuzefatide 6.5 mg/m² plus nivolumab, rising to 100% confirmed ORR in MMAE-naïve EphA2+ patients (n=14). The company has identified 8 mg/m² Q2W as the preferred monotherapy dose. The PDAC trial extends Bicycle's footprint into a difficult tumor type where EphA2 imaging readouts at AACR 2026 reinforced target validation.
Final phase 1 AMPLIFY-201 results published in Nature Medicine report that ELI-002 2P — a lymph node-targeted vaccine combining amphiphile-modified mutant KRAS G12D/G12R peptides with CpG-7909 adjuvant — produced durable responses in 25 patients with minimal residual mKRAS disease (20 pancreatic, 5 colorectal). At 19.7 months median follow-up, robust T-cell responders achieved median relapse-free survival not reached vs. 3.02 months in non-responders (HR 0.12, p=0.0002); 71% of evaluable patients generated both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, and antigen spreading was observed in 67%. Phase 2 enrollment of the next-generation 7-peptide formulation ELI-002 7P is complete, with results expected in 2026.
Nearly half of participants in a Phase 1 trial of BioNTech/Genentech's personalized mRNA neoantigen vaccine autogene cevumeran remain alive up to six years after treatment, with T-cell responses showing no signs of waning. Eight of 16 patients produced durable CD8+ T cells targeting tumor neoantigens after nine doses, with the immune memory still detectable at six-year follow-up. A Phase 2 trial is underway.
Leukogene Therapeutics presents two posters at AACR 2026 showcasing its proprietary M2T platform, designed to harness MHC class II-engaging mechanisms to redirect immune response against acute myeloid leukemia and pancreatic cancer. CEO Sandeep Gupta framed the platform as targeting two of the most lethal and treatment-resistant cancers. Posters appear in the Bi- and Tri-Specific Antibody Therapies session on April 21.