🚀 Launching the HKUMedXelerate 2026 Top 10 Showcase: Next-Generation Immunotherapy for Solid Tumours

We are thrilled to kick off the HKUMedXelerate 2026 Top 10 Showcase series today!

Supported by the HKUMed Tam Wing Fan Innovation Start-Up Grant, HKUMedXelerate provides HKD 7.5 million annually (up to HKD 1.5 million per winning team) alongside expert mentorship and technology-transfer support to help faculty teams move biomedical discoveries from the lab to patients.

Because solid tumours account for most cancer deaths and require urgent, better immune treatments, our First Edition highlights two pioneering HKUMed spin-off teams tackling solid-tumour immunotherapy:

1️⃣ NOVOMI VAX Tumor Vaccine (Led by Prof. Jiandong Huang):

The project features two proprietary platforms:

• ANTCV AI-driven personalized neoantigen vaccine;

• BSTCV first-in-class off-the-shelf broad-spectrum vaccine.

Lead candidate NV-001 showed robust IIT results in newly diagnosed GBM, with patients achieving progression-free survival (PFS) of 20–38+ months — over 2.6×the median PFS of the Nature-published NeoVax trial.

2️⃣ Innovative “off-the-shelf” γδ-T Exosome Therapies for Solid Tumors (Led by Prof. Wenwei Tu):

The project develops a global first-in-class, "off-the-shelf" γδ-T cell exosome anti-tumor platform designed to overcome the limitations, high costs, and severe toxicities of traditional cell therapies.

It also combines nanoscale tumor penetration and a strong safety profile (eliminating cytokine storm risks) with massive ex vivo expansion to create an accessible, mass-producible solution targeting nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Over the coming weeks, we will continue introducing our 2026 finalists two at a time — stay tuned for next week's spotlight on first-in-class liver cancer approaches from the teams of Prof. Stephanie Ma and Prof. Zhiwei Chen!

HKU RISE | HKU TEC | iDendron | HKUMed – The University of Hong Kong

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