Out of 30 patients evaluable for efficacy, nine (30%) showed evidence of clinical benefit with duration of response ranging from 9.4 to 26.5 months. Progression free survival was 4.8 months with a median follow-up of 12 months. Overall survival has not yet been reached as 21 patients are still alive.
The survival rate at 9 months was 70%. The vaccine, Uvidem, was well tolerated with toxicity limited to mild events with only one possibly related serious adverse event reported (age related macular degeneration).
Merrick Ross from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, said: “The preliminary analysis of the phase II clinical trial with IDM Pharma’s cancer vaccine, Uvidem, suggests that several patients with advanced melanoma attained durable control of their disease after a treatment stimulating their own immune system cells. Additionally, the side effects experienced by our patients were minimal.”
IDM is jointly developing the vaccine with Sanofi-Aventis.