Gritstone Oncology

Gritstone's core business revolves around its proprietary platforms designed to train the immune system to recognize and eliminate diseased cells. A key component is the Gritstone EDGE™ platform, which uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze tumor tissue and predict tumor-specific neoantigens (TSNAs)—novel protein fragments on cancer cells that can be targeted by the immune system. This allows for the development of both personalized and "off-the-shelf" cancer vaccines. The company's revenue model is based on collaborations, licensing agreements, and potential future commercialization of its product candidates. A significant partnership includes a collaboration with Gilead Sciences to develop a therapeutic vaccine for HIV.

The company's product pipeline is divided into two main areas: oncology and infectious diseases. In oncology, Gritstone has two primary programs. GRANITE is a personalized cancer vaccine tailored to each patient's unique tumor mutations. It is being evaluated in a Phase 2/3 study as a maintenance treatment for patients with metastatic microsatellite-stable colorectal cancer (MSS-CRC). The second program, SLATE, is an "off-the-shelf" vaccine that targets a set of neoantigens shared across subsets of cancer patients, particularly those with KRAS mutations. Both programs utilize a prime-boost vaccine regimen involving a chimpanzee adenovirus (ChAd) vector and a self-amplifying mRNA (samRNA) vector to stimulate a potent T-cell response. In infectious diseases, the CORAL program is developing a next-generation samRNA vaccine for COVID-19, designed to offer broader and more durable protection against viral variants. The company also has a therapeutic HIV vaccine in development with Gilead. Despite filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2024, Gritstone emerged in April 2025 with a sharpened focus on its oncological research and development.