Abstract/Summary

Peptide‐based vaccines, formulated with an appropriate adjuvant, offer a versatile platform for targeted cancer immunotherapy. While adjuvants are usually coadministered for nucleic acid and protein vaccines, synthetic peptide antigens afford a more effective opportunity to covalently and regioselectively graft immunostimulatory motifs directly onto the antigen scaffold to yield self‐adjuvanting vaccines. Herein, we explore the synthesis of two tissue‐restricted cancer‐testis antigens (CTAs); New York oesophageal cell carcinoma 1 (NY‐ESO‐1) and B melanoma antigen 4 (BAGE4), both carrying the toll‐like receptor (TLR) agonist, Pam2Cys. These constructs were evaluated in vivo along with a lipid nanoparticle (LNP) preparation of the underexplored BAGE4 melanoma antigen.