ROCHESTER, N.Y., Nov. 01, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vaccinex, Inc. (Nasdaq: VCNX), a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering a differentiated approach to treating cancer and neurodegenerative disease through the inhibition of SEMA4D, today announced that Maurice Zauderer, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive officer, will participate in a Clinical Trials Roundup Session at the Virtual Huntington Study Group (HSG) Meeting at 3:15 p.m. ET on Friday, November 5, 2021. In addition, Elizabeth E. Evans. Ph. D., Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President, Discovery and Translational Medicine, will present the poster “SIGNAL Phase 2 Study Suggests that Pepinemab, Anti-SEMA4D Antibody, Provides Cognitive Benefit In Early Manifest Huntington’s Disease.”

Dr. Zauderer’s presentation will summarize expanded and encouraging post-hoc subgroup analysis from the Company’s SIGNAL Phase 2 trial of pepinemab for the treatment of Huntington’s Disease (HD). “The HSG meeting is a very important event for the HD community. We are very pleased to have an opportunity to present additional learnings from our expanded post-hoc subgroup analysis which suggests a cognitive benefit of pepinemab treatment in patients with mildly advanced HD. This work will help to guide the next steps in advancing the pepinemab HD program,” said Maurice Zauderer.

The poster that Dr. Evans will present will review the expanded post-hoc analysis of the SIGNAL study and provide preclinical mechanism of action data. Dr. Evans will also be available in our Virtual Exhibit Hall booth throughout the conference, from Thursday through Saturday, November 4-6.

Vaccinex is an HSG meeting sponsor. To register for the meeting, please go to https://huntingtonstudygroup.org/. Note that Dr Zauderer’s slides and video presentation will be available on the Vaccinex website following conclusion of the meeting (www.vaccinex.com).

About Pepinemab

Pepinemab, also known as VX15/2503, is a humanized monoclonal antibody that binds and blocks the signaling activity of semaphorin 4D (SEMA4D) which is an extracellular signaling molecule that regulates the migration and function of immune and inflammatory cells.  Preclinical studies have demonstrated that antibody blockade of SEMA4D promotes tumoricidal immune activity in tumors and prevents brain damage in neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative disease models.  Vaccinex is focused on the development of pepinemab for the treatment of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases including Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s disease.

About Vaccinex, Inc. 

Vaccinex, Inc. is pioneering a differentiated approach to treating cancer and slowly progressive neurodegenerative diseases through the inhibition of semaphorin 4D (SEMA4D). The company’s lead drug candidate, pepinemab, blocks SEMA4D, a potent biological effector that prevents immune infiltration into tumors and triggers chronic inflammation in the brain, and is currently being evaluated in the clinic as a treatment for head & neck cancer and Alzheimer’s disease with ongoing exploration of further phase 3 development in Huntington’s disease. The company additionally intends to leverage its proprietary drug discovery platform, ActivMAb^®, to create opportunities for future pipeline expansion and strategic collaborations, particularly by exploiting its unique capability to select high value antibodies against important multi-pass membrane receptors including GPCR and ion channels.

Forward Looking Statements

To the extent that statements contained in this presentation are not descriptions of historical facts regarding Vaccinex, Inc. (“Vaccinex,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), they are forward-looking statements reflecting management’s current beliefs and expectations. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements about our plans, expectations and objectives with respect to the results and timing of our clinical trials of pepinemab in various indications, the use and potential benefits of pepinemab in Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s disease and other indications, and other statements identified by words such as “may,” “will,” “appears,” “expect,” “planned,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “hypothesis,” “potential,” “suggest”, “advance,” and similar expressions or their negatives (as well as other words and expressions referencing future events, conditions, or circumstances). Forward-looking statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause the outcome of our research and pre-clinical development programs, clinical development programs, future results, performance, or achievements to differ significantly from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, uncertainties inherent in the execution, cost and completion of preclinical and clinical trials, uncertainties related to regulatory approval, risks related to our dependence on our lead product candidate pepinemab, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and other matters that could affect our development plans or the commercial potential of our product candidates. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements. For a further discussion of these and other factors that could cause future results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement, see the section titled “Risk Factors” in our periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the other risks and uncertainties described in the Company’s Form 10-K for year-end December 31, 2021, and subsequent filings with the SEC.

Investor Contact
John Mullaly
LifeSci Advisors, LLC
617-429-3548
jmullaly@lifesciadvisors.com 

Source: Vaccinex, Inc.