Cancer Treatments

Cancer, in its many forms, is one of the great remaining areas of unmet medical need. Shortfalls in the safety and efficacy of treatment protocols based on chemotherapy and radiation therapy call for new, improved approaches. To date there has yet to be a commercially launched immunotherapeutic cancer vaccine product in the US. However, recent improvements in the magnitude and specificity of immunity elicited by newer more potent delivery technologies has served to re-kindle significant interest in this field. Cancer immunotherapy using vaccine technologies such as the alphavaccine platform system are an exciting alternative to current standard cancer therapeutic treatments and may be poised to redefine the oncology marketplace.

We are currently collaborating with several academic institutions and investigators to explore such cancer treatments. We are co-investigators with the Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center on two clinical vaccine development grants from the National Cancer Institute and the Department of Defense, Breast Cancer Research Program, to evaluate our system for colon cancer and breast cancer vaccines, respectively. The colon cancer phase 1/2 clinical trial was initiated in late 2007, and interim results are expected in 2009. The breast cancer phase I/II trial is currently planned for 3Q 2009.