First patient treated with novel Cancer Vaccine
A Phase I trial of OVM-200, Oxford
Vacmedix’s lead cancer vaccine, has started – the first clinical trial of a
cancer vaccine using the novel technology.
Press Release – Oxford group announces first patient treated with novel cancer vaccine
Oxford Vacmedix (OVM), the UK-based
biopharma company focused on the development of cancer vaccines, announced
today the start of a Phase 1 trial of OVM-200 with the first patient being
treated at the prestigious Sarah Cannon Research Institute in London. OVM-200
is a cancer vaccine developed using OVM’s novel recombinant overlapping peptide
(ROP) platform. It targets survivin, a protein overexpressed by cancer cells,
which prevents them being attacked by the body’s immune system.
The Phase I trial of OVM-200 is focused on
safety and on establishing an immune response in patients with three tumour
types – non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), prostate cancer and ovarian cancer.
It is being run at five sites in the UK including University College Hospital
(UCH) London, the cancer hospital of the Oxford University Hospitals Foundation
Trust (OUHFT) and the Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester. The Chief
Investigator for the trial is Professor Martin Forster, based at UCH. This
trial is both the first time OVM-200 will have been used in people and also the
first time any ROP based vaccine has been tested in the clinic.
Dr Shisong Jiang, Chief Scientific Officer
and Founder of Oxford Vacmedix, said:
“The ROP technology has been developed from an initial concept in the
laboratory to now being tested as a treatment for critically ill patients. We
see the potential benefits of a vaccination approach both in stimulating the
body’s immune system to attack the cancer and also, in future trials, enhancing
the efficacy of other immune oncology agents. This Phase I trial is a first
step towards having effective cancer vaccines.”
Professor Tobias Arkenau, Principal
Investigator at the Sarah Cannon Research Institute UK, added:
“It is a privilege to work with Oxford Vacmedix on this innovative
vaccine programme for patients with lung, prostate and ovarian cancer. I
strongly believe that vaccine treatments will play a major role in future
cancer treatments.”
About Oxford Vacmedix
Oxford Vacmedix UK Ltd, based at the Oxford
Science Park, UK, is a bio-pharma company that was spun out from the University
of Oxford’s Department of Oncology and is utilising the novel proprietary
platform technology of recombinant overlapping peptides (ROPs) invented by Dr
Shisong Jiang. ROPs have been validated as a technology to stimulate broad and
strong T cell immunity therefore forming a good platform for therapeutic
vaccines and diagnostics in cancer and infectious diseases.
The technology uses the novel, proprietary
platform of ROPs to design and develop therapeutic cancer vaccines and
diagnostics with the potential for increased efficacy, lower costs, simpler
regulatory pathways and synergy when used in combination with other immune
oncology (IO) agents. The company has extensive contacts and collaborations in
China through Changzhou Bioscience Group (CBIG) that is using the ROP platform
for diagnostics in both cancer and in infectious diseases.
OVM is developing two lead vaccines, OVM-100
and OVM-200, focusing on unmet clinical need. OVM-100 is an HPV vaccine
targeted at cervical cancer, and OVM-200 represents a new type of vaccine
utilising survivin to target solid tumours. Both vaccines will be tested as
single agents and in combination with IO agents.
OVM secured Series A investment from Cancer ROP, a leading South Korean healthcare institution, listed in KOSDAQ, and from existing shareholders in China in 2018. The company is currently seeking Series B funding to advance OVM-200 to Phase 2 and OVM-100 into Phase 1 trials, as monotherapy and also in combination.
For more information: https://www.oxfordvacmedix.com
Source: Oxford Vacmedix