NEC announces potential cancer drug discovered via AI

NEC Corporation has committed to 39.9% equity in CYTLIMIC, a new company to promote the development and application of therapeutic cancer peptide* vaccines discovered using NEC’s artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Such vaccines can trigger the body's immune defenses to destroy cancer cells.

NEC’s NEC the WISE AI technologies - formally announced in July 2016 - combine machine learning and experimentation to predict which peptides could be effective vaccines quickly and affordably. Discovering such vaccines require the discovery of peptides that activate immunity from among 500 billion amino acid sequences, and which also universally match the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) which differs from person to person. The vaccine further needs another chemical, called an immune adjuvant**, to make the peptides more effective. The process is made even longer and more expensive through the the need for clinical and non-clinical testing.

Harnessing AI technology, NEC has been engaged in collaborative research since 2014 with Yamaguchi University and Kochi University, and in clinical research with Yamaguchi University, resulting in the discovery of a peptide vaccine that promises to be effective in the treatment of hepatoma - a type of liver cancer - and esophageal cancer and which is compatible with the genetic profile of approximately 85% of Japan’s population. NEC is advancing the vaccine as a new cancer drug through CYTLIMIC.

“As a result of this latest initiative, NEC is developing and implementing a therapeutic cancer peptide vaccine, and investigating how it can be adapted for various forms of cancer. Also, as a result of NEC’s cutting-edge AI technology and the latest immunology findings of universities and research institutes, we are developing a new cancer vaccine using peptides and adjuvants, helping to create a society that beats cancer. Going forward, NEC will continue to expand its business by promoting the application of AI technology to the healthcare sector,” said Takaaki Shimizu, Executive VP and CMO, NEC Corporation.

*A peptide is a type of protein that consists of amino acids. Amino acids are needed by the body if it is to function properly.

**An adjuvant is a chemical administered in combination with a peptide for the purpose of enhancing immune function. Different adjuvants differ in the magnitude of the response that they elicit. A peptide administered by itself may have no effect.