Lausanne, Switzerland — June 11, 2026 — Leads & Copy — AC Immune SA will receive a $4 million research grant from The Vijay and Marie Goradia Charitable Foundation to support the extension of Part 1 of its Phase 2 VacSYn trial for ACI-7104, an active immunotherapy being developed for early Parkinson’s disease (PD).
The extended Part 1 of the trial will assess the long-term safety and efficacy of ACI-7104 for an additional two years. Final data from Part 1 of the VacSYn trial are anticipated in the second half of 2026.
ACI-7104 is AC Immune’s anti-alpha-synuclein (a-syn) active immunotherapy. The grant is intended to provide a long-term dataset that will be particularly valuable for individuals with prodromal and early PD, who are expected to require prolonged treatment and would benefit from a well-established long-term safety profile.
Vijay Goradia, founder of the Houston-based Goradia Charitable Foundation along with his wife Marie, expressed hope that the grant will help expand knowledge of PD and facilitate the delivery of ACI-7104 to patients in the earliest stages of the disease. He noted the potential for the therapy to revolutionize PD treatment by slowing its progression, thereby preserving function and independence.
Dr. Andrea Pfeifer, CEO of AC Immune SA, stated her honor in receiving the grant and highlighted the promise shown by ACI-7104 in clinical testing. She thanked the Goradias for their contribution and their recognition of the potential of ACI-7104 in AC Immune’s pursuit of precision prevention for neurodegenerative diseases, including PD.
Martin Zügel, MD, interim CEO designate and Chair of the Board of Directors at AC Immune, also thanked The Vijay and Marie Goradia Charitable Foundation, emphasizing that the grant will significantly aid in extending Part 1 of the VacSYn trial and in generating crucial long-term patient data.
Positive interim results from the Phase 2 VacSYn trial of ACI-7104 in early PD were reported in December 2025. These results suggested that targeting a-syn pathology with active immunotherapy could offer a disease-modifying effect, potentially slowing PD progression. The interim data also indicated a favorable safety profile, robust antibody responses, target engagement, and encouraging clinical signals. The final results from Part 1 (week-104) are expected in H2 2026.
ACI-7104.056 is an optimized formulation of a previously validated active immunotherapy. It aims to generate target-specific antibodies against pathological oligomeric a-syn, inhibiting its spread and downstream neurodegeneration in early Parkinson’s disease. Alpha-synuclein protein aggregate accumulation is implicated in inflammatory stress and neuronal degeneration in the brain, playing a key role in neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s.
AC Immune SA is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the precision prevention of neurodegenerative diseases caused by misfolded proteins, including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. The company utilizes its SupraAntigen® and Morphomer® technology platforms to develop a pipeline of therapeutic and diagnostic candidates, with programs in Phase 2 and Phase 3 development. AC Immune has a history of forming strategic partnerships with major pharmaceutical companies, securing significant non-dilutive funding and potential milestone payments plus royalties.
Source: AC Immune SA
