Six different types of the disease will be targeted.
MabVax Therapeutics inked two licensing agreements with the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research (SKI)www.mskcc.org. The first deal grants MabVax exclusive development and commercialization rights to multiple vaccines against recurrent cancer for six different types of the disease.
SKI will commence Phase I trials in each indication this year or early next year. Upon successful demonstration of immunogenicity and tolerability in the Phase I trials in sarcoma and small cell lung cancer, MabVax will initiate Phase II studies.
In addition to MabVax’ efforts, SKI is planning to conduct Phase II evaluations with the licensed vaccines in ovarian and breast cancer. Pending successful outcomes, MabVax may assume responsibility for further development and commercialization.
The second transaction awards MabVax exclusive rights to the use of lymphocytes from successfully vaccinated clinical trial participants. MabVax plans to rescue antibodies from these patient samples to create a pipeline of fully human mAb products against each of the vaccine targets expressed on the surface of the cancer cells.
By rescuing antibodies from a selection of patients who generate a useful immune response, MabVax can select the optimal antibodies and develop them as either stand-alone or as combination products with the vaccines. MabVax has established a laboratory and office in the San Diego area to launch this effort.
“Targeting residual circulating cancer cells and micrometastasis with passively administered or vaccine-induced antibodies against multiple targets is an approach well suited to eradicating the cancer cells that cause metastatic disease,” explains David Hansen, the company’s president and CEO.
