Immunovaccine Announces Plans for Phase II Clinical Trial of DPX-Survivac in Patients with Recurrent Lymphoma - Seite 2

Study investigators will monitor patients' immune response to treatment and examine lymphoma deposit biopsies to evaluate immunological changes and gene expression profiles in the tumor. Additionally, the duration of patient clinical responses will also be documented in extended follow-up.

Lymphoma is a relevant oncologic target for DPX-Survivac as more than half of all aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphomas such as DLCBL express survivin, the tumor-associated antigen that serves as the basis for the vaccine. Furthermore, there is a growing body of clinical research that shows activity for immune modulatory agents such as cyclophopsphamide in DLCBL. Importantly, lymphoma represents a significant unmet medical need as patients who are not transplant candidates or who experience recurrence following an autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) lack additional treatment options.

"The promising results from the DPX-Survivac Phase I/Ib ovarian cancer studies, as well as expanding scientific literature highlighting the clinical activity of immune modulators in lymphoma, provide a strong scientific rationale for this study. There is a clear and important unmet medical need in this area of lymphoma management and we are eager to evaluate the potential of this combination therapy to deliver clinical benefit to those patients," said Neil Berinstein, M.D., Professor, Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto and medical oncologist at the Odette-Sunnybrook Cancer Centre, one of the sites at which the lymphoma trial will be conducted.

About DPX-Survivac

DPX-Survivac consists of survivin-based peptide antigens formulated in the DepoVax^™ adjuvanting platform. Survivin has been recognized by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as a promising tumor-associated antigen (TAA) because of its therapeutic potential and its cancer specificity. Survivin is broadly over-expressed in solid tumors and blood cancers including ovarian, breast, colon and lung cancers, among others. Survivin plays an essential role in antagonizing apoptosis, supporting tumor-associated angiogenesis, and promoting resistance to various anti-cancer therapies. Survivin is also a prognostic factor for many cancers and it is found in high percentage of cancer patients.