Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among men, with an anticipated 1.7M new cases and 0.5M deaths by 2030 worldwide. In today’s standard treatment, there is no active therapy after removal of primary tumor to prevent the development of metastatic cancer, while metastasis is responsible in 90% of cancer deaths. In this context, there is a high and unmet need for a therapy, which can effectively address the problem as the first adjuvant treatment against metastasis formation in prostate cancer.
RhoVac is developing the first therapeutic vaccine – RV001 – against initial formation and spread of metastatic cancer cells. The concept behind RV001 relies on the reprogramming of the patient own T cells to recognise and eliminate early stage metastatic cancer cells. Together with an unprecedented therapeutic potential in multiple cancer types, RV001 holds important competitive advantages, such as targeting a stage of the disease where there is currently no treatment available, high safety and cost-effectiveness.
Throughout the feasibility assessment in the SME instrument Phase 1, RhoVac aimed to i) do a market analysis, including definition of market; ii) engage with Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and strategic partners; iii) prepare the SME Instrument Phase 2 project; and iv) Develop a viable business plan.