MVX-ONCO-1 Awarded the 2026 Pfizer Research Prize in Oncology (5 February 2026)
- Release Tx
- 8 hours ago
- 3 min read
The award recognises a personalised cancer immunotherapy vaccine developed by UNIGE and HUG that originated at MaxiVax (now Release Therapeutics)
Release Therapeutics (Release Tx) is pleased to announce that our research collaborators at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) have been awarded the 2026 Pfizer Research Prize in Oncology for their work on the personalised cancer vaccine MVX-ONCO-1.[i] Established in 1992, the Pfizer Research Prize recognises outstanding and innovative research contributions across five key medical fields, including oncology, and is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious awards for biomedical research in Switzerland.
The prize was awarded to Professor Nicolas Mach, Head of the Clinical Research Unit in Oncology and Vice-Director of the Cancer Centre at HUG, and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Medicine and the Translational Research Centre in Haemato-Oncology at UNIGE; Rémi Vernet, Scientific Officer in the Faculty of Medicine at UNIGE; and Dr. Eugenio Fernandez, Attending Physician in the Oncology Division at HUG.
Professor Mach is also co-founder and Scientific Director of Release Tx, underscoring the close scientific continuity between research that originated at MaxiVax SA (now Release Tx), in collaboration with HUG, and was subsequently licensed to UNIGE and HUG.
The MVX-ONCO Programme and its Origins
The MVX-ONCO programme was originally developed by MaxiVax in collaboration with HUG and the Swiss Federal Technology Institute of Lausanne (EPFL) as the first personalised, cell-based immunotherapy combining autologous, inactivated tumour cells with a biocompatible encapsulation system delivering sustained, local release of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF).[ii] The approach was designed in response to well-recognised limitations of earlier cancer vaccine strategies, including tumour heterogeneity and transient immune activation.
At the core of the MVX-ONCO approach is a vaccination strategy in which tumour cells are first collected from the patient through a minimally invasive procedure, inactivated using irradiation while preserving their full antigenic profile, and administered as a personalised vaccine. This process maintains the full spectrum of tumour-specific molecular markers (antigens), which train the immune system to recognise and target living tumour cells in the body expressing the same antigenic profile.
To strengthen and sustain this immune response, capsules containing genetically engineered cells are implanted subcutaneously to deliver sustained, local release of GM-CSF (an adjuvant), creating a potent immune-activating microenvironment at the vaccination site to recruit and activate antigen-presenting immune cells.
The combination, MVX-ONCO-1, progressed to a first-in-human evaluation in a phase I study conducted at the HUG, enrolling 34 patients with advanced, treatment-refractory solid tumours.[iii] The study evaluated the safety, tolerability and feasibility of six administrations of MVX-ONCO-1 over a nine-week period. The personalised vaccine demonstrated a favourable safety profile, with no evidence of clinically significant systemic toxicity and serious adverse effects possibly related to the investigational product being rare. Although the study was not powered for formal efficacy endpoints, clinical benefit was observed in more than half of patients, including disease stabilisation, partial responses and prolonged survival.
Ensuring Continuity of the MVX-ONCO Programme through Academic-Clinical Development
As MaxiVax transitioned into Release Tx in 2023 and sharpened its strategic focus on developing its proprietary encapsulated cell technology (ECT) for central nervous system (CNS) disorders, the Company entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with UNIGE and HUG to support the continued development of the MVX-ONCO programme.[iv]
For people facing cancer, this licensing agreement supports the continued advancement of a promising therapeutic approach addressing significant unmet needs in oncology, with the 2026 Pfizer Research Prize expected to further strengthen UNIGE and HUG’s ability to secure funding for ongoing clinical development.[v]
For Release Tx, the agreement represents a strategic decision that allows the Company to concentrate its expertise and resources on its CNS mission, while maintaining strategic oversight of the MVX-ONCO programme. The Company also retains an exclusive option to re-acquire rights to future developments relating to select proprietary assets, including encapsulated myoblast cell lines engineered to secrete GM-CSF and anti-CTLA4 antibodies and the associated ECT, under commercially favourable terms, ensuring Release Tx remains well positioned to stay aligned with the programme’s continued advancement.
Release Tx congratulates the teams at UNIGE and HUG on receiving the 2026 Pfizer Research Prize in Oncology and commends their continued commitment to advancing innovative approaches in cancer immunotherapy.
The Release Tx Team
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