Cancer Pioneer Reaches Key Agreement On Colon Cancer Drug OncoVAX(R)

Main Category: Colorectal Cancer
Also Included In: Immune System / Vaccines;  Regulatory Affairs / Drug Approvals;  Pharma Industry / Biotech Industry
Article Date: 12 Feb 2008 - 0:00 PDT

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Cancer research pioneer Michael G. Hanna Jr. Ph.D., also Vaccinogen, Inc.'s Founder, Chairman and CEO has acquired the rights to OncoVAX(R), a vaccine with the potential to prevent colon cancer from recurring in many patients.

"This agreement represents a major step forward in defeating cancer by increasing the body's immunity to it," said Dr. Hanna, who has been working on cancer vaccines for more than 30 years.

In the agreement, Vaccinogen obtained exclusive license to OncoVAX(R) Active Specific Immunotherapy as well as an important component of the product TICE BCG. The vaccine is made from the patients' own tumor and is injected back into the patient to effect an immune response against recurrence of that cancer.

The FDA views Stage II colon cancer as an unmet medical need. When colon cancer recurs after surgery it is frequently fatal. OncoVAX(R) prevents that recurrence and thereby reduces recurrence and deaths by over 50%. Vaccinogen is currently preparing to commercialize the vaccine in Switzerland.

About OncoVAX(R)

OncoVAX(R) immunotherapy is based on a decades-long attempt by scientists to transform the body's immune response and its long-term memory to prevent the return of disease years after surgery. Such an approach has already been successful in preventing a number of infectious diseases. Immune stimulation should be able to create a population of white blood cells that can kill tumor cells wherever they arise in the body, years after surgical removal of the original tumor.

Vaccinogen's scientists prepare a vaccine from the patient's own tumor. The cells are dissociated, irradiated to make them non-tumorigenic and administered to the patient by three weekly injections, starting four weeks after surgery. A booster vaccination is administered six months later.

About Vaccinogen

Vaccinogen is a biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing cancer vaccines and other immunotherapeutic products. Based in Frederick, MD, the company has a portfolio of product candidates for the treatment of cancer, infectious disease, autoimmune and anti-inflammatory diseases and fully human monoclonal antibodies in various stages of clinical development. The company maintains a European subsidiary in Emmen, The Netherlands that operates a fully functioning cGMP manufacturing center for the production of OncoVAX(R) vaccine.

Vaccinogen
http://www.vaccinogeninc.com

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