Evaxion Expands Pipeline with EVX-05, an AI-Designed Off-the-Shelf Glioblastoma Vaccine

Evaxion A/S has expanded its cancer vaccine pipeline with EVX-05, an off-the-shelf therapeutic vaccine candidate for glioblastoma designed using the company's AI-Immunology platform.¹ The addition comes alongside the discontinuation of EVX-03, which Evaxion removed from its R&D pipeline as part of routine portfolio management, with learnings from that program feeding into both EVX-05 and Evaxion's existing EVX-04 candidate for acute myeloid leukemia.¹ The company said EVX-05's development costs are captured within its existing budget and will not affect its cash runway, which continues to extend into the second half of 2027.¹

How does EVX-05 work?

EVX-05 is designed based on patient tumor samples and targets antigens derived from endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), remnants of ancient viral sequences embedded in the human genome that are often overexpressed in cancer cells but not in healthy tissue, making them visible to the immune system and attractive targets for off-the-shelf cancer vaccines.² Evaxion's AI-Immunology platform is used to identify these conserved ERV-derived antigens shared across glioblastoma patients, an approach the company says enables an off-the-shelf vaccine rather than one requiring individual patient customization.¹ EVX-05 builds on the same ERV-targeting concept underlying EVX-04, the company's vaccine candidate for acute myeloid leukemia, which Evaxion said confirms the broader applicability of the approach across cancers where conserved immunogenic antigens can be identified and existing immunotherapies remain inadequate.¹

Why does glioblastoma represent a significant unmet need?

Glioblastoma is the most aggressive malignant primary brain tumor, with an incidence rate of 3.19 per 100,000 people in the US and a median diagnosis age of 64, according to the National Institutes of Health.¹ No cure currently exists, and treatment outcomes remain poor: approximately 50% of patients die within about one year of diagnosis, according to a 2005 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.¹ Evaxion is developing EVX-05 in collaboration with researchers at Duke University School of Medicine, whose disease expertise the company said complements AI-Immunology's target discovery capabilities.¹

What did company and academic leadership say?

Birgitte Rønø, chief scientific officer and chief operating officer of Evaxion, said, "We are delighted to transform our discoveries in glioblastoma into a promising new vaccine program with EVX-05, which could hold a significant therapeutic potential in area of massive unmet medical need. We have an outstanding collaboration with Duke University and now see the huge benefits of combining their extensive disease understanding and clinical expertise with the unique target discovery capabilities of AI-Immunology."¹ Mustafa Khasraw, MD, professor at Duke University School of Medicine, said, "Patients with glioblastoma continue to face limited treatment options and poor outcomes. The potential of ERVs as therapeutic targets has long been acknowledged, if we can unlock this potential, it would be a significant advancement towards improving care."¹

What happens next?

Evaxion is currently optimizing a lead vaccine candidate for the EVX-05 program as it advances toward initial clinical testing.¹ Khasraw and his team at Duke are expected to lead this work and conduct initial clinical testing, an arrangement Evaxion said could also provide a cost-efficient path to studying EVX-05 in a phase 1 trial.¹ The company plans to discuss EVX-05 further during its Q2 2026 business update conference call scheduled for August 20, 2026.¹

References

1. Evaxion expands and refocuses R&D pipeline with EVX-05, an AI-designed off-the-shelf brain cancer vaccine program. News release. Evaxion A/S; August 17, 2026. Accessed August 17, 2026.
2. Evaxion Biotech A/S. Evaxion to unveil potentially groundbreaking AI-Immunology precision cancer vaccine concept. November 28, 2023. Accessed August 17, 2026.