At present, Provenge – for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer – is the only cancer vaccine on the market and is only available in the United States. However, healthcare business analysts, GlobalData, predict that over the next six years there will be a significant increase in cancer vaccines.
Although there are interesting developments in both the prophylactic* and the therapeutic sectors of the cancer vaccine market, the developments in the therapeutic sector offer the most inspiring innovations.
* “Prophylactic” means for prevention, such as Gardasil, a vaccine which protects from HPV infection, and its most common complication, cervical cancer. “Therapeutic” means for treatment (they person already has the disease).
According to GlobalData, a series of first-in-class treatments have shown to be safe and well tolerated in clinical trials.
These vaccines include:
- GV1001 for advanced pancreatic cancer
- Biovaxld (Idiotype vaccine therapy) for follicular non-Hodgkin lymphoma
- Allovectin-7 and OncoVEX for the treatment of melanoma
Currently, there are several adverse effects in treatments used to help individuals suffering from these cancers, ranging from high toxicity, to short-term or unpredictable efficacy.
The medical community hope that advances in the cancer vaccine industry can resolve these issues and change the way future cancer treatments are developed.
Cancer vaccines can also be used in conjunction with treatments, such as surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.
In addition, numerous pharmaceutical companies, including Vical, Biovest International, NewLink Genetics Corporation and NovaRx Corporation, are focusing more attention on cancer vaccines.
Written by Grace Rattue