Antigenics Inc. (NASDAQ:AGEN) today announced that the Brain Tumor Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco, has begun enrolling patients into a Phase 2 clinical trial of Oncophage (vitespen) in combination with the standard of care - radiation therapy plus Temodar (temozolomide) - for newly diagnosed glioma patients.
The overall goals of the investigator-sponsored study are to evaluate median overall survival, progression-free survival and immunologic response to vaccine treatment.
“To date, improvements in overall survival for newly diagnosed glioma patients have been negligible,” said Andrew T. Parsa, MD, PhD, associate professor in the department of neurological surgery at the University of California, San Francisco, and principal investigator of the trial. “The rationale for moving Oncophage into this patient population and combining it with radiation and Temodar was underscored by the encouraging results from the ongoing Phase 2 study in recurrent glioma, a more challenging patient population where the results showed overall survival increasing to approximately 10.5 months.”
Study Details
The Phase 2 single-arm trial is designed to enroll about 60 patients with newly diagnosed glioma. Patients will undergo surgery to remove their tumors, which are then used to manufacture their patient-specific vaccines. According to the protocol, patients will receive Oncophage once weekly for 4 consecutive weeks and monthly until vaccine depletion with concurrent Temodar.
The trial is supported through a grant from the American Brain Tumor Association and the National Cancer Institute Special Programs of Research Excellence.
About Oncophage
Derived from each individual’s tumor, Oncophage contains the ‘antigenic fingerprint’ of the patient’s particular cancer and is designed to reprogram the body’s immune system to target only cancer cells bearing this fingerprint. Oncophage is intended to leave healthy tissue unaffected and limit the debilitating side effects typically associated with traditional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Oncophage has been studied in Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of kidney cancer and metastatic melanoma and is currently being investigated in a Phase 2 trial in recurrent glioma.
In April 2008, Oncophage was approved in Russia for the adjuvant treatment of kidney cancer patients at intermediate-risk for disease recurrence. Pre-commercial launch activities are ongoing. In October 2008, Antigenics submitted a marketing authorization application to the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) requesting conditional approval for Oncophage in earlier-stage, localized renal cell carcinoma.
Oncophage received fast track and orphan drug designations from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for both kidney cancer and metastatic melanoma as well as orphan drug designation from the EMEA for kidney cancer. In 2009, Oncophage also received orphan drug designations from the FDA and EMEA for glioma.
In April 2009, the World Vaccine Congress named Oncophage as the best therapeutic vaccine.
New trials show promise for immune checkpoint blockers in early-stage lung cancer