Cancer Vaccine: October 2006 Archives

TAMPA, FL -- October 20, 2006 -- The search for effective anti-cancer therapies increasingly leads medical scientists to immune-based agents like anti-vaccines, or a "personalized" approach based on a patient's unique disease status. A new study reported by Tampa-based Accentia Biopharmaceuticals, achieves promising treatment objectives by exploiting both therapeutic approaches simultaneously.

Results from an ongoing clinical trial suggest that patients with non-Hodgkins lymphoma (NHL), a cancer of the lymphatic system, can benefit from treatment with a novel anti-cancer vaccine based on the patient's specific tumor. The study results, published September 20 in the prestigious Journal of the National Cancer Institute, demonstrated that administration of the BiovaxID™ anti-cancer vaccine formulation resulted in long-lasting remission in NHL patients.

Newswise — A team of University of Iowa Health Care researchers has launched an important clinical trial of a novel therapeutic that may eventually lead to new treatments for men diagnosed with prostate cancer.

The Ad5-TRAIL gene therapy for prostate cancer research trial is a Phase I study designed to test the optimal dosage at which the therapeutic agent can safely be given to patients.

The clinical study is being co-led by Thomas Griffith, Ph.D., an associate professor in the UI Department of Urology, and Richard Williams, M.D., the Rubin H. Flocks Chair in Urology and professor and head of the UI Department of Urology.

Prostate cancer is the most common, noncutaneous cancer for men in the U.S., leading to more than 30,000 deaths a year. Vaccines for prostate cancer, which for several years have been shown to generate immunologic responses, are beginning to show significant clinical promise.

At present, numerous therapeutic options are being investigated, including autologous and allogeneic whole-tumor cell vaccines, dendritic cell vaccines, and poxvirus-based vaccines. Advances in basic immunology have translated into new, more complex therapeutic strategies. The findings from current trials and the demonstrated potential to combine vaccines with conventional therapies herald a promising future for the treatment of prostate cancer.

by Patty Fisher, 9 Oct 2006

As if we needed another reminder of how quickly kids grow up, doctors are now vaccinating 11-year-old girls against a sexually transmitted virus.

Gardasil, the new vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV) that was approved by the government this summer, began arriving in the Bay Area recently. Kaiser Permanente will start giving the shots today.

PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Studies presented at the Modern Vaccine Adjuvants et Delivery Systems Conference and at the AIDS Vaccine Conference 2006 show improved immunogenicity of vaccines when used with the Biojector® 2000 ("B2000") in cancer and AIDS vaccines.

DRUGS firm GlaxoSmithKline is investing more than £339m into a French factory to boost vaccine manufacturing capacity.

The pharmaceutical group, which employs 2,200 people at plants in County Durham and Cumbria, is investing the money in the St Amand-Les-Eaux factory.

The plant will meet increasing uptake of its existing products and anticipated strong demand for Cervarix, a new vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, that is expected to be approved next year.

Jean Stephenne, head of the company's vaccines operations, said: “GSK's vaccines business is enjoying explosive growth.”

The new site, which is expected to be operational in 2011, will house formulation, filling, freeze-drying and packaging lines, boosting GlaxoSmithKline's global capacity in these between 50% and 60%.

It will contribute to the production of new Glaxo vaccines now under development, included an improved flu vaccine for the elderly, as well as Cervarix.