Advertise With UsAdvertise on our extensive network of industry websites and newsletters.
Get the PBR newsletterSign up to our free email to get all the latest PBR
news.Scancell, a developer of therapeutic cancer vaccines, has entered into a strategic collaboration with IR BioSciences' wholly owned subsidiary ImmuneRegen BioSciences, (ImmuneRegen).
Subscribe to our email newsletter
As per the agreement, Scancell and ImmuneRegen are expected to work together to investigate the synergy between ImmuneRegen’s Homspera and Scancell’s ImmunoBody vaccine technologies.
Scancell said that its first vaccine using its patented ImmunoBody technology is a new DNA vaccine being developed for the treatment of melanoma called SCIB1.
Scancell’s Immunobody platform specifically targets dendritic cells, leading to an enhancement of the immune response. The enhanced immune response against TRP-2 (a melanoma protein called Tyrosinase-Related Protein 2) is expected to lead to the inhibition and regression of both primary and metastatic melanoma tumor growth. Scancell is on track to commence its Phase I clinical trials for SCIB1 during Q2 2010.
ImmuneRegen’s Homspera has previously been found to improve the efficacy of a TRP2 cancer vaccine in mice, resulting in specific immune responses associated with inhibition of melanoma tumor growth. Additionally, previous studies have demonstrated efficacy of Homspera in enhancing immune responses to infectious disease vaccines, such as influenza.
Hal Siegel chief scientific officer of ImmuneRegen, said: “We are excited to be commencing this relationship with Scancell. As ImmuneRegen and Scancell move towards the clinic independently, we feel this is the ideal time to collaborate on this project.”
Lindy Durrant, CEO of Scancell, said: “Combining Scancell’s ImmunoBody technology with Homspera might offer the opportunity to further improve the therapeutic potential of SCIB1. We are very much looking forward to collaborating with Immuneregen on this project.”