Scancell Holdings PLC (AIM:SCLP, OTC:SCNLF) CEO Phillip L’Huillier talked with Proactive about the company’s partnership with the NHS Cancer Vaccine Launchpad to accelerate patient recruitment for its SCOPE study evaluating the iSCIB1+ DNA cancer vaccine.
L’Huillier described the deal as “a very positive endorsement for Scancell and for the medicines that we are developing,” noting that the therapy is showing promise in delivering long-term immune control in advanced melanoma patients. The NHS collaboration enables hospitals to more quickly access and offer the iSCIB1+ therapy as part of the trial, making Scancell the first UK company to partner with the platform and the first to offer a DNA cancer vaccine through it.
He explained that the vaccine is given alongside checkpoint inhibitors, currently standard care, to boost response rates and prolong efficacy, especially where standard therapy alone sees limited, short-lived results. L’Huillier confirmed multiple SCOPE study data readouts are expected in 2025, with a larger development phase targeted for 2026.
The company is also progressing its Modi-1 peptide vaccine and aims to further develop its GlyMab antibody platform, including the SC134 programme for small cell lung cancer. L’Huillier said his CEO priorities include sticking to development timelines, building strategic partnerships, and preparing the organisation for future phases.
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Proactive: Phil, very good to speak with you. You've announced today a partnership with the NHS Cancer Vaccine Launchpad. That's to fast-track patients into the SCOPE study. What's the Cancer Vaccine Launchpad? And what does this collaboration mean for Scancell?
Phillip L’Huillier: Hello, Stephen, and thank you for taking the time to talk with me about Scancell and our new partnership with the Cancer Vaccine Launchpad. The first thing I would actually say is this is a very positive endorsement for Scancell and for the medicines that we are developing. Our experimental medicine, iSCIB1+, being developed under the SCOPE study, is showing long-term immune control in tumors — what we call the duration of response and progression-free survival. This is what patients need when they first come on to therapy, and they also want a therapy that is safe. Pleasingly, we’re seeing that with our iSCIB1+ vaccine.
This partnership with the Cancer Vaccine Launchpad — Peter Johnson and his team are world leaders in accessing patients for clinical studies like this — will provide much faster access for patients in the United Kingdom to our experimental therapy. It allows hospitals to access the therapy more quickly and join the SCOPE study faster, offering advanced melanoma patients access to iSCIB1+. Finally, perhaps just to add, isn’t it fantastic to see a medicine being developed by Scancell, a highly innovative United Kingdom company, being made available first to patients in the UK through the NHS Cancer Vaccine Launchpad? We are the first UK company to partner with the Cancer Vaccine Launchpad, and our iSCIB1+ product is the first DNA cancer vaccine available to patients.
Proactive: Phil, can you tell me more about your cancer vaccines and how we should assess the potential benefits to patients?
Phillip L’Huillier: Yes. So, Scancell develops immunotherapies as a mission for cancer-free survival. Our lead product iSCIB1+, tested under the SCOPE study and now partnered with the Cancer Vaccine Launchpad, is a DNA vaccine that generates a long-term immune benefit to the patient and attacks tumors. We deliver it on top of standard of care — checkpoint therapy in the UK.
What it does is create high-avidity T-cells that help create this long-term immune control. It works synergistically with checkpoint therapies and brings benefit on top of those therapies. And as you may know, Stephen, although checkpoint therapies work really well in melanoma, they benefit only about half of patients, and even then, many responses are short-lived. By adding iSCIB1+ on top of the standard of care, we’re lengthening the duration of that response and bringing benefit to more patients.
Proactive: When do you expect to have full data from the SCOPE study? What are the next steps in bringing the drug to patients?
Phillip L’Huillier: We set out some timelines earlier this year for data readouts, and we’re very focused on meeting those. In the middle of 2025, we should have data from cohort one — our first-generation vaccine SCIB1 — and from cohort three, the second-generation iSCIB1+ product. Then, the fourth cohort that we’re initiating now with the Cancer Vaccine Launchpad will yield data at the end of 2025.
Our aim during 2025 is to identify which patients benefit, how we deliver the therapy, and how we immunize patients. These parameters will help design the next phase of development, which we’re aiming to kick off in the second half of 2026 — either in partnership or independently.
Proactive: What are the next major milestones or inflection points that investors should be watching out for, Phil?
Phillip L’Huillier: The major milestones are those data readouts I just mentioned for iSCIB1+ — initial cohorts mid-2025 and the fourth cohort later in 2025. On top of that, we have the second product in our pipeline, the Modi-1 vaccine. That’s a peptide vaccine — unlike our DNA vaccine — targeting post-translational modifications and applicable to a broader range of tumor types. It’s in phase two clinical development now, across multiple tumor types, and we expect readouts from that in the second half of 2025.
Additionally, we have an antibody portfolio from our GlyMab platform. At the end of last year, we completed a second partnership with Genmab — an industry validation of our antibody work. I’m determined to apply more resources to develop this in-house, including our lead antibody program, SC134, targeting small cell lung cancer. We’ll be progressing that through 2025 into 2026.
Proactive: As a new CEO, where are you putting your focus, Phil?
Phillip L’Huillier: First, building robust plans and executing them on the timelines we’ve set out — and we’re doing that. For example, we said we’d fully recruit the third cohort in the SCOPE study, and we’ve done that on schedule.
Second, pursuing the right strategic partnerships and business development. It takes a village to develop a medicine, so having the right partners — like the Cancer Vaccine Launchpad — and future relationships is essential to getting our medicines to registration and to patients.
And finally, building the organization for the next phase of development. I’m fully committed to delivering the Scancell portfolio as promised and on time. This partnership is a great example of how we can strengthen our efforts to move our medicines forward.
Proactive: I hope you'll keep us posted on progress with that. Phil, thank you very much for taking the time to speak with us today.