Evaxion Shares Jump 21.6% as Patients Maintain Responses in Melanoma Vaccine Follow-Up
Key Facts
Evaxion depositary shares jumped 21.6% during trading on Monday, 19 October 2026, according to Investing.com, after the company announced extended follow-up results for its personalized therapeutic vaccine for advanced melanoma. The company said patients included in the three-year follow-up maintained the clinical responses recorded at the two-year follow-up, with no tumor progression observed. Of the 12 responders, 6 patients continued in the Phase II trial extension, forming the group covered by the new follow-up results. The company said of these participants: "All patients at the three-year follow-up maintained the clinical responses observed at the two-year follow-up, with no tumor progression observed." The intraday move in the depositary shares reported by Investing.com coincided with the announcement of sustained responses in this small group.
Evaxion had said in an earlier business and annual results update that the trial's objective response rate reached 75%, with 12 of 16 patients achieving objective clinical responses. That group included 4 patients who achieved a complete response, according to figures the company cited in its announcement of the earlier results. In a separate announcement about the presentation of follow-up results, the company said 92% of patients remained responders at the two-year follow-up. It added in the same announcement that no relapses had been observed at that follow-up, ahead of the latest results for participants who continued in the extension. In its announcement of the extension's completion, it also reported that responses deepened in 54% of patients during treatment, alongside the response results it had previously announced.
Patients received the EVX-01 vaccine with Merck's Keytruda during the first two years, according to treatment regimen details reported by Investing.com. Participants in the trial extension then received the vaccine alone during the third year, according to Evaxion's announcement of the completion of this follow-up phase. Manufacturing of the personalized vaccine begins with a tumor biopsy, according to the production process outlined in the scientific poster the company published on the immunological data. The process includes selecting neoantigens before proceeding to manufacture the final vaccine, steps the company presented in its explanation of how the personalized treatment used in its program is produced. The process ends with the production of a peptide vaccine, according to the poster, while the announced clinical results covered patient follow-up after combination treatment and subsequent administration of the vaccine alone.
On the immunological side of the program, Evaxion said in an earlier announcement that 86% of the targets included in its personalized vaccine induced a tumor-specific immune response. The company discussed vaccine target selection in that announcement, alongside the clinical follow-up program through which it reported patient response results. Regarding partnership discussions, Birgitte Rønø linked the generation of further positive results to support for those discussions during the company's previous quarterly earnings call. Rønø, who serves as chief scientific officer and chief operating officer, discussed the role of data generated by the development program in ongoing talks. According to the call transcript published by Investing.com, she said: "There is no doubt that more positive data we can generate will be appreciated in these discussions."
On the financial front, Evaxion held $14.0 million in cash and cash equivalents as of 30 June 2026, according to its quarterly financial results announcement. The company had reported cash and cash equivalents of $18.4 million as of 31 March 2026, the comparative period cited in the same announcement. In a research portfolio update, management estimated that its cash runway extended into the second half of 2027. The official financial calendar listed 19 November 2026 as the date for the company's next financial results announcement, following the cash balances reported at the end of June. That release will cover third-quarter 2026 results and a business update, according to the schedule Evaxion published for investors.
Ahead of the financial results, Evaxion plans to present trial data at the European Society for Medical Oncology congress, according to its official announcement detailing the scientific presentation. The company scheduled the presentation for 24 October 2026, following the announcement of extended follow-up results for the vaccine for melanoma patients. It also announced a webinar to discuss clinical and immunological data from the three-year follow-up in the Phase II trial of the personalized vaccine. Professor Muhammad Adnan Khattak will participate in the webinar, according to the official event page the company published as part of its investor program. The webinar is scheduled for 29 October 2026, following the scientific presentation planned for the same month.