By Brad Sorensen, CFA

NASDAQ:EVAX

READ THE FULL EVAX RESEARCH REPORT

Evaxion (NASDAQ:EVAX) is a clinical stage company that is making AI useful in the current environment by using the technology to develop new cancer-fighting vaccines. The company notes that it has demonstrated that it can identify, through the company's AI models, novel targets within days, rather than the traditional years it commonly takes with standard drug discovery methods. The use of AI also allows the company to decrease the risk of failure as the technology filters out those results that may result in low efficacy or unacceptable toxicity.

Company management announced that it is extending its Phase 2 trial of EVX-01 in order to gather additional data that may lead to enhanced treatments. As a reminder, EVX-01 is the company’s lead clinical asset. EVX-01 is a personalized peptide-based cancer vaccine intended for first-line treatment of multiple advanced solid cancers. As a result of the positive results seen to this point, some of which are described below, the company is adding a year to the trial in order to get more data and determine if there is an opportunity for enhanced treatments. This is an extremely positive development and does nothing to slow down the progress of the Phase 2 trial. The current trial is investigating EVX-01 in combination with Keytruda in patients with advanced melanoma. That trial will continue as scheduled, but trial participants will now be given the opportunity to continue to a third year of treatment using EVX-01 as a stand alone treatment.

The company has decided to add the additional year due to the good results seen thus far and the belief that EVX-01 may be even more effective than initially believed. The additional year, according to company management, will not affect the cost structure or require additional fund raises—so we strongly believe this is a win-win for investors. 

As a reminder, EVX-01 triggered a 79% tumor-specific response, a substantial increase from the 58% response rate seen in the Phase I trial.  As we’ve talked about in previous reports, the AI-Immunology platform of Evaxion showed the promise of improving treatment for patients by being able to “learn” from previous trials and improve upon the treatment as it moves along the approval process. These results are further confirmation of the vast potential that this platform has and illustrate why we continue to have a very positive view on the company.

We continue to be excited about the investment opportunities offered by EVAX. In our view, these announcements are the tip of the iceberg of what the AI platforms developed by Evaxion can achieve and positive news will continue to come out as we move forward. We suggest investors investigate EVAX further and consider investing, as we believe the company is at an inflection point that is the start of sustained uptrend.

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