Biological Instructions With a Specific Target
The company's approach attempts to reproduce signals associated with viral infection inside a tumor. On its technology website, ViVac describes synthetic RNA instructions intended to trigger a controlled, local immune response.
It packages those instructions in tiny lipid particles that serve as a delivery system. Their intended task is to transport the material into tumor cells. The program therefore connects two challenges: deciding what a biological instruction should do and getting it to the place where it is supposed to act.
According to ViVac, the system is designed to limit replication and produce an immune response resembling that triggered by a virus, without using a live virus. It aims to activate immune cells and antibodies and support immune memory. Those are development goals, rather than an announcement of an approved treatment for patients.
Liver and Ovarian Cancer Programs
ViVac's pipeline page identifies liver and ovarian cancer as central programs. The liver program aims to stimulate a local response within the tumor. The ovarian program targets tumors with increased expression of the CD155 protein.
The company also describes plans to extend its platform to other solid tumors. As it presents the modular design, the intention is to adapt the same family of biological tools to the characteristics of different cancers, rather than limit the platform to one application.
On that page, ViVac reports laboratory proof of concept, along with RNA expression and targeted tumor delivery in living models. This describes an early research stage. It does not establish clinical effectiveness in humans, and a university prize does not replace clinical evaluation or regulatory authorization.
Bringing Two Specialties Together
Hebrew University says the company was founded by Prof. Chezy Barenholz, a developer of Doxil, and Dr. Lior Nissim, head of the Synthetic Biology Laboratory at its Faculty of Medicine. Keren Leshem is chief executive. The founders bring together expertise in drug delivery and the design of genetic instructions.
The company's website explains that Barenholz's laboratory specializes in membranes and liposomes, while Nissim's work concerns programmable biological systems. Their combination is intended to advance a platform in which delivery and activity inside the cell are designed together.
The recognition awarded to ViVac concerns that venture and its potential. A Jerusalem Post report published on October 20 in cooperation with the university explained that the prize recognizes scientific and entrepreneurial promise, rather than establishing treatment effectiveness.
A Competition Connecting Research With Applications
The Asper Prize is organized by the university's innovation and entrepreneurship center in partnership with The Asper Foundation. According to the university, six finalists presented to its international Board of Governors after a judging process examining their progress and potential.
The other finalists work on a blood test for Parkinson's disease, secure communications, drug research using brain tissue models and AI, warehouse robotics, and blood transfusion technologies. The selection shows the range of fields in which university research is being developed into entrepreneurial activity.
For ViVac, the award provides financial support and recognition during development. Its published programs point to continued work on the platform and cancer applications, including delivery into tumor cells and the resulting biological response. The achievement recognized is the creation of a venture around Israeli research, with its scientific development still continuing.
