There are press releases now on a daily basis it seems announcing new discoveries. It is a very exciting time for biotechnology. I don't even post all of the ones I receive, but an advancement in the possibility of a cancer vaccine is undoubtedly of great interest to many.
Article Date: 26 Feb 2009
ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd. (OTCBB: IMUC) (IMUC), a biotechnology company, today announced that the company has identified new peptide candidates that may significantly expand the potential target patient population for the company's cancer stem cell vaccine product candidate, ICT-121. Many cancer therapies are limited by their ability to be used only in patients with certain human leukocyte antigen (HLA) types. Identification of the new peptides for use in IMUC's vaccine should enable the use of IMUC's product candidate in patients with many different HLA types.
"This is an encouraging finding for us, as it could dramatically increase the number of patients who may be able to someday benefit from our cancer stem cell therapies," stated Manish Singh, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of IMUC. "ICT-121 is an exciting product candidate given that it targets cancer stem cells-cancer cells at their very root-and it has been shown in preclinical studies to be highly targeted for destroying cancer stem cells present in brain tumors. This is a very unique approach, as active immunotherapy provides a high degree of selectivity to target primarily cancer cells while leaving the normal stem cells alone."
Dr. Singh continued, "We've been pleased to see the high level of interest around cancer stem cell technologies of late as evidenced by the number of recent deals done by pharmaceutical companies in this area as well as by the September 2008 cover story in The Economist entitled 'Cancer and Stem Cells-The Connection that Could Lead to a Cure.''"
About ICT-121
ICT-121 is IMUC's cancer stem cell (CSC) vaccine product candidate that consists of a peptide to stimulate a cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) response to CD133, which is generally overexpressed on the CSCs. It is designed as an "off-the-shelf" vaccine. IMUC will initially evaluate it in a Phase I clinical study for glioblastoma which, subject to FDA clearance, IMUC plans to commence in the third quarter of this year. While glioblastoma will be the initial target for ICT-121, CD133 is also overexpressed in colon cancer, breast cancer, liver cancer, prostate cancer, multiple myeloma and melanoma, providing many potential cancer targets for this CSC vaccine in the future.
About ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd.
IMUC is a Los Angeles-based clinical-stage company that is developing immune based therapies for the treatment of brain and other cancers. IMUC is currently evaluating a dendritic cell-based vaccine in a Phase I clinical trial for glioblastoma. The company's "off the shelf" therapeutic vaccine product candidate targeting cancer stem cells for multiple cancer indications is expected to enter clinical trials during the third quarter of 2009. IMUC is in pre-clinical development of a monoclonal antibody product candidate for the treatment of small cell lung cancer and pancreatic cancer, and is also evaluating its platform technology for monoclonal antibody discovery using differential immunization for diagnosing and treating multiple types of cancer. To learn more about IMUC, please visit http://www.imuc.com.
Article Date: 26 Feb 2009
ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd. (OTCBB: IMUC) (IMUC), a biotechnology company, today announced that the company has identified new peptide candidates that may significantly expand the potential target patient population for the company's cancer stem cell vaccine product candidate, ICT-121. Many cancer therapies are limited by their ability to be used only in patients with certain human leukocyte antigen (HLA) types. Identification of the new peptides for use in IMUC's vaccine should enable the use of IMUC's product candidate in patients with many different HLA types.
"This is an encouraging finding for us, as it could dramatically increase the number of patients who may be able to someday benefit from our cancer stem cell therapies," stated Manish Singh, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of IMUC. "ICT-121 is an exciting product candidate given that it targets cancer stem cells-cancer cells at their very root-and it has been shown in preclinical studies to be highly targeted for destroying cancer stem cells present in brain tumors. This is a very unique approach, as active immunotherapy provides a high degree of selectivity to target primarily cancer cells while leaving the normal stem cells alone."
Dr. Singh continued, "We've been pleased to see the high level of interest around cancer stem cell technologies of late as evidenced by the number of recent deals done by pharmaceutical companies in this area as well as by the September 2008 cover story in The Economist entitled 'Cancer and Stem Cells-The Connection that Could Lead to a Cure.''"
About ICT-121
ICT-121 is IMUC's cancer stem cell (CSC) vaccine product candidate that consists of a peptide to stimulate a cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) response to CD133, which is generally overexpressed on the CSCs. It is designed as an "off-the-shelf" vaccine. IMUC will initially evaluate it in a Phase I clinical study for glioblastoma which, subject to FDA clearance, IMUC plans to commence in the third quarter of this year. While glioblastoma will be the initial target for ICT-121, CD133 is also overexpressed in colon cancer, breast cancer, liver cancer, prostate cancer, multiple myeloma and melanoma, providing many potential cancer targets for this CSC vaccine in the future.
About ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd.
IMUC is a Los Angeles-based clinical-stage company that is developing immune based therapies for the treatment of brain and other cancers. IMUC is currently evaluating a dendritic cell-based vaccine in a Phase I clinical trial for glioblastoma. The company's "off the shelf" therapeutic vaccine product candidate targeting cancer stem cells for multiple cancer indications is expected to enter clinical trials during the third quarter of 2009. IMUC is in pre-clinical development of a monoclonal antibody product candidate for the treatment of small cell lung cancer and pancreatic cancer, and is also evaluating its platform technology for monoclonal antibody discovery using differential immunization for diagnosing and treating multiple types of cancer. To learn more about IMUC, please visit http://www.imuc.com.