- Breast
cancer is the leading cancer diagnosed in women and the second-most common
cancer overall
- BriaCell
Therapeutics has begun patient dosing in clinical trials that combine its
trademarked Bria-IMT technology with celebrated cancer-fighting antibodies
- The
clinical trials are working on a therapy that will help the body’s own
immune system fight cancerous cells
The battle against breast cancer is taking a technological
turn amid an increasing drive to develop therapies that use the body’s own
immune system to destroy life-threatening cancer cells. BriaCell Therapeutics
Corp. (OTCQB: BCTXF) (TSX.V: BCT) is on the front line of the battle and is
currently testing its immuno-oncology biotechnology in phase I and IIa trials
involving advanced-stage breast cancer patients.
Last month, the company announced positive outcomes from the
latest proof of concept data for the study (http://ibn.fm/36wya), in which BriaCell’s trademarked
Bria-IMT immunotherapy technology was checked for safety and efficacy factors
in select breast cancer patients. The company reported that patients
experienced some tumor shrinkage at various sites after the introduction of
Bria-IMT, building on previous Bria-IMT proof of concept testing that showed
substantial tumor shrinkage in a patient whose breast cancer had metastasized.
In the study, blood was tested to see if cancerous cells and associated cells
expressed an “immune checkpoint” molecule dubbed “programmed death-ligand 1,”
or PD-L1, that might normally suppress the immune system response to cancerous
“invaders.”
Earlier this month, BriaCell announced that it is proceeding
with the next stage of testing — patient dosing using Bria-IMT in combination
with celebrated cancer-fighting antibodies expected to increase the power of
the technology’s punch (http://ibn.fm/5QKZU).
The immune checkpoint inhibiting antibodies, known as
pembrolizumab and ipilimumab and marketed as Keytruda by Merck & Co., Inc.
(NYSE: MRK) and as Yervoy by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY),
respectively, gained worldwide attention after the 2018 Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Drs. Tasuku Honjo and James P. Allison.
Honjo and Allison made what the Nobel committee referred to as “game-changing
discoveries about how to harness and manipulate the immune system to fight
cancer” by studying proteins that block the immune system from attacking
dangerous cells (http://ibn.fm/S30pC).
The proteins are known as CTLA-4, which Yervoy targets, and
PD-1, which Keytruda targets in an attempt to “release the brakes” on the
immune system’s fight against such protected cancer cells. The scientists’ work
in the 1990s led rapidly to the development of new cancer therapies designed to
help the body’s immune system fight off cancerous cells, and Yervoy was the
first to gain approval in 2011.
Keytruda launched in 2014 and became a bigger hit.
Initially, Keytruda received FDA approval for treating a type of skin cancer,
but ongoing clinical trials led to its accelerated implementation in treating
other forms of cancer, such as non-small cell lung cancer, head and neck
squamous cell carcinoma, classical Hodgkin lymphoma and bladder cancer, with
priority review currently under way for treating advanced gastric or gastroesophageal
junction adenocarcinoma (http://ibn.fm/bHuRa).
In this developing landscape for battling cancer, BriaCell
believes Bria-IMT’s use in stimulating the immune system’s T-cell activity,
working in combination with the protein-attacking virtues of Keytruda and
Yervoy, may provide the trial’s advanced-stage breast cancer patients with a
greater benefit than they might otherwise have known. The PD-L1 expression of
blood-borne cancer cells and cancer-associated cells suggests that Keytruda may
be the best combination, and this will be evaluated initially.
Thus far in 2018, more than two million new cases of breast
cancer have been diagnosed, making it the most commonly occurring cancer in
women and the second most common cancer overall, according to the World Cancer
Research Fund International (http://ibn.fm/HUClW).
“We believe that combination of Bria-IMT with immune
checkpoint inhibitors should create even more potent anti-cancer immune
responses,” BriaCell President and CEO Dr. Bill Williams stated in this month’s
news release. “BriaCell is committed to exploring additional ways to address
the unmet needs of the advanced breast cancer community. We are very excited to
test this novel combination treatment approach which we believe will offer
significant clinical benefit to patients with advanced breast cancer.”
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.BriaCell.com
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