INO-1401 + INO-9012

INO-1401 + INO-9012 is a combination of two DNA plasmid-based immunotherapies developed by Inovio for cancer treatment. INO-1401 is a synthetic DNA plasmid vaccine encoding the full-length human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) antigen, an enzyme overexpressed in many cancers, designed to elicit a cellular immune response against hTERT-expressing tumor cells. INO-9012 is a DNA plasmid encoding interleukin-12 (IL-12), a cytokine that enhances T cell and natural killer (NK) cell activity and acts as an immunologic adjuvant to increase the anti-tumor immune response. The combination is designed to promote robust, hTERT-specific T cell responses, including CD4+ and CD8+ T cell activation and generation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) with lytic potential characterized by expression of perforin and granzymes. The addition of INO-9012 as an IL-12-encoding plasmid further amplifies the immune response and magnitude of T cell activation. The primary indication under development is for the adjuvant treatment of various cancers, notably solid tumors and pancreatic cancer, in patients at high risk of relapse after standard therapy[2][6][4].