PRINCETON, N.J., Oct. 27, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Advaxis, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADXS), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing cancer immunotherapies, today announced the launch of a research collaboration with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), a premier cancer center committed to patient care and innovative research, to evaluate the immunologic and anti-tumor activity of patient tumor-specific, neoepitope-based immunotherapy.
The goal of the collaboration, titled “MINE™” (My Immunotherapy Neo-Epitopes), is to use Advaxis’s Lm Technology™ to develop neo-epitope immunotherapies based on an individual patient’s tumor (“ADXS-NEO”). MINE™ will first focus on a preclinical study of Advaxis’s new construct approach to evaluate the immunologic effects and anti-tumor activity of a personalized immunotherapy in a mouse tumor model. Advaxis will use learnings from the MINE™ collaboration to identify and target neoepitopes using Lm Technology™ and later develop patient specific immunotherapy constructs that incorporate the neoepitope sequences identified in the patient’s tumor cells. Clinical studies using ADXS-NEO, to be conducted at MSK, are in development.
“Existing immunotherapies have been shown to very effectively augment tumor immunity in a subset of patients, leading to durable responses,” said Jedd D. Wolchok, M.D., Ph.D., Chief of Melanoma and Immunotherapeutics Service, Department of Medicine and Ludwig Center at MSK. “However, recent advances in genome sequencing have made it possible to investigate the role of neoepitopes, or unique mutations, in an individual patient’s cancer, which may allow for the development of specific immunotherapies that generate and enhance an immune response directed against the neoepitopes contained in a patient’s tumor.”
Advaxis’s Lm Technology™ is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the advances in genome sequencing which occurred in recent years. Lm Technology™ has the bandwidth to potentially target all of a patient’s immunogenic cancer neoepitopes, eliminating the need to use “predictive algorithms.” This technology can enable the development of truly individualized immunotherapies that can be manufactured in a cost-effective and timely manner.
“We welcome this collaboration with MSK, a top cancer institution, which will allow us to study our clinically validated Lm Technology™ in a new way to deliver precision medicine by personalizing neoepitopes specific to a patient’s tumor,” said David J. Mauro, M.D., Ph.D., Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Advaxis.
About Advaxis, Inc.
Located in Princeton, N.J., Advaxis, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing multiple cancer immunotherapies based on its proprietary Lm Technology™. The Lm Technology™, using bioengineered live attenuated Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) bacteria, is the only known cancer immunotherapy agent shown in preclinical studies to both generate cancer fighting T-cells directed against a cancer antigen and neutralize Tregs and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) that protect the tumor microenvironment from immunologic attack and contribute to tumor growth. Advaxis's lead Lm Technology™ immunotherapy, axalimogene filolisbac, targets human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers and is in clinical trials for three potential indications: Phase 2 in invasive cervical cancer, Phase 1/2 in head and neck cancer, and Phase 1/2 in anal cancer. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted axalimogene filolisbac orphan drug designation for each of these three clinical settings. For additional information on Advaxis, visit www.advaxis.com and connect on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and Google+.
Forward-Looking Statements
This media statement contains forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: statements regarding Advaxis’s ability to develop the next generation of cancer immunotherapies; and the safety and efficacy of Advaxis’s proprietary immunotherapies, including ADXS-NEO. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, including the risk factors set forth from time to time in Advaxis’s SEC filings, including but not limited to its report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2014, which is available at http://www.sec.gov. Advaxis undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revision to these forward-looking statements, which may be made to reflect the events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements.