Gothenburg, Sweden, 2015-04-28 16:04 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Immunicum AB (publ) today announced a clarification in response to several questions on Immunicum’s update on the HCC phase I/II study from April 23 concerning the number of patients who are still alive in the study. A total of 4 of the 9 recruited patients in the study are still alive, including one patient with bile duct cancer. Management is encouraged by the overall outcome in the HCC phase I/II study for the patients who received full vaccination. Four additional patients will be included in the study.
- We are dealing with a difficult to treat patient group with unfortunate short expected survival of only a few months. That four of the six patients with liver cancer who completed INTUVAX treatment has shown survival in excess of the expected median overall survival, we think is promising data, says Company CEO, Jamal El-Mosleh.
Including the patient with bile duct cancer, so far five of seven fully treated patients have exhibited prolonged survival compared to historical data. In addition to these seven patients, two patients dropped out before the full number of doses of vaccine had been administered. Management believes that the explanatory power regarding INTUVAX is worse in said two cases. The two patients who received the full vaccination, but still did not achieve expected median survival, belonged to Child-Pugh Classes 5 and 6 and deceased 7.5 months and 3.5 months after first INTUVAX vaccination compared to expected median overall survival of 8.3 months and 4.3 months respectively.
The study's main purpose is to establish that INTUVAX treatment is not associated with serious vaccine-related adverse reactions, which so far has also been confirmed.
For further information, please contact:
Jamal El-Mosleh, CEO, Immunicum
Phone: +46 (0) 31 41 50 52
jamal.el-mosleh@immunicum.com
Alex Karlsson-Parra, CSO, Immunicum
Phone: +46 (0) 705 16 75 79
alex.karlsson-parra@immunicum.com
The company’s Certified Adviser is Redeye AB
Phone: +46 (0) 8 545 013 31. www.redeye.se
About INTUVAX
INTUVAX is a therapeutic cancer vaccine being developed for treatment of solid tumors. Its active ingredient is processed dendritic cells from healthy donors. In short, dendritic cells are a type of withe blood cells with an antigen-presenting function in the body’s adaptive immune defense. INTUVAX is believed to cause an inflammatory reaction at the vaccine site that subsequently leads to activation of tumor-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) attacking cancer cells. In a phase II study in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma, the infiltration of CD8 positive CTLs will be documented in primary tumors, metastases, and healthy tissue.
About Immunicum AB (publ)
Immunicum AB (publ) develops vaccines for the treatment of tumor diseases. A phase II study of the company's most advanced project - INTUVAX® against renal cancer – started in the first half of this year. The project portfolio contains three further projects against various tumor diseases, including liver cancer.