Cohort Review Committee evaluates SCIB1 dose escalation, safety in Phase 1 trial

Scancell Holdings Plc, the developer of therapeutic cancer vaccines, is pleased to announce that the first group of patients receiving the lowest dose of SCIB1 (its DNA ImmunoBody^® vaccine being developed for the treatment of melanoma) in the Phase I clinical trial has been evaluated by the Cohort Review Committee.

Following review of the safety data from the first three patients after three treatments, the Cohort Review Committee has approved escalation of the dose and recruitment of the next group of patients as planned.

The trial, which commenced in June 2010, is designed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of SCIB1 in patients with late stage melanoma and also to gather data on the effects of SCIB1 on tumour growth and cellular immune response.

Professor Lindy Durrant, CEO of Scancell Holdings and Professor of Cancer Immunotherapy at Nottingham University, commented: "We are pleased that the Cohort Review Committee has given us the go-ahead to escalate the dose of SCIB1. This initial data, combined with the recent recruitment of a fourth trial centre at Leeds and the approval by GTAC and MHRA for recruitment of earlier stage patients is a very encouraging development. There remains a pressing need for safe new treatments for this devastating disease and these developments have allowed us to make further progress towards this goal."