AIM nanoparticle approach can identify select EBV-specific T cell defects in patients with multiple sclerosis and may enable killing of EBV+ cells believed to be a contributing factor in this disease

Data suggests a potential therapeutic role for AIM multi-antigen-specific products in multiple sclerosis

GAITHERSBURG, Md., May 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NexImmune, Inc. (Nasdaq: NEXI), a biotechnology company developing a novel approach to immunotherapy designed to orchestrate a targeted immune response by directing the function of antigen-specific T cells in oncology, autoimmune and infectious diseases, today announced that it will be presenting a poster at the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS) Annual Meeting, being held in Boston from June 20-23, 2023.

This poster is a result of a collaboration between NexImmune and Dr. Steven Jacobsen at the NIH which is focused on two goals. The first is to use NexImmune’s AIM nanoparticle technology to expand and characterize EBV specific CD8+ T cells from healthy and multiple sclerosis (MS) donors to assess whether MS may be associated with defective T cell control of EBV-infected B cells. The second goal is to evaluate whether specific T cell defects can be circumvented as a potential development strategy to enable CD8+ specific killing of EBV+ cells that are believed to be a significant contributing factor to multiple sclerosis.

“As the data and recent publications indicate, there is an increasing level of focus on the role of EBV and the importance of T cell responses in diseases such as MS,” said Dr. Jack Ragheb, Senior Vice President of Translational Sciences and Medicine at NexImmune. “We believe AIM products are uniquely positioned to deliver multi-antigen targeted approaches to address unmet need in these disease areas.”

Poster Presentation:

Title: “Expansion of EBV Peptide-Specific CD8 T Cells from Multiple Sclerosis Patients and Healthy Donors Reveals Dysregulation of Effector Responses that may be Associated with Disease Pathogenesis”

Abstract #: 1515606

Authors: Jack A. Ragheb¹, William Frazier², Lauren Suarez¹, Maria Monaco-Kushner², Ruipeng Wang¹, Mathias Oelke¹, Steven Jacobson²

¹NexImmune, Inc.
²VID, NINDS, NIH

About NexImmune

NexImmune is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a novel approach to immunotherapy designed to employ the body’s own T cells to generate a specific, potent, and durable immune response. The backbone of NexImmune’s approach is a proprietary Artificial Immune Modulation (AIM™) nanoparticle technology platform. The AIM technology enables NexImmune to construct nanoparticles that function as synthetic dendritic cells capable of directing a specific T cell-mediated immune response. AIM constructed nanoparticles employ natural biology to engage, activate and expand endogenous T cells in ways that combine anti-tumor attributes of antigen-specific precision, potency and long-term persistence with reduced potential for off-target toxicities. NexImmune is focused on developing injectable AIM nanoparticle constructs and modalities for potential clinical evaluation in oncology, autoimmune disorders and infectious diseases.

For more information, visit www.neximmune.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release may contain “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are based on the beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to management of NexImmune, Inc. (the “Company”). All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release are forward-looking statements, including statements concerning the enrollment, timing, progress, release of data from and results of the Company’s paused clinical trials and the expectations with respect to potential AIM INJ product candidates; the timing, progress and release of preclinical data from our AIM INJ platform programs and other preclinical research programs; and the utility of prior preclinical and clinical data in determining future clinical results. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risks and uncertainties set forth in the “Risk Factors” section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on March 28, 2023, and subsequent reports that we file with the SEC. Forward-looking statements represent the Company’s beliefs and assumptions only as of the date of this press release. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this press release to conform any of the forward-looking statements to actual results or to changes in its expectations.

Contacts
Investors and Media:
Chad Rubin, SVP Corporate Affairs and Investor Relations
NexImmune, Inc.
crubin@neximmune.com