Source: Tap Into Roxbury NJ
Overlook Medical Center, part of Atlantic Health System, has been selected as the only site in New Jersey and one of the first three in the nation to participate in a clinical trial of a unique vaccine that targets the protein that keeps cancer cells alive in brain tumors.
The “SURVIVE” Phase 2B trial, sponsored by MimiVax LLC, will allow doctors at Overlook to treat patients newly diagnosed with glioblastomas with SurVaxM, a first-of-its-kind vaccine that targets survivin, a cell-survival protein found in 95 percent of glioblastomas and many other cancers.
The neuro oncology experts at Overlook are hoping that the vaccine will be the key to giving patients a better shot at long-term survival from the disease and improved function. For neuro-oncologist Robert Aiken, MD, the lead researcher for the trial at Overlook, that would mean the world to patients with glioblastoma, a debilitating condition with an average survivability of about 16 months.
SurVaxM is engineered to recognize surviving expressing cancer cells as foreign and stimulate patients’ own immune response to control tumor growth and recurrence. The vaccine is given to patients once they complete the typical post-surgical treatment of radiation and chemotherapy, which usually lasts about 6-8 weeks after surgery to remove the tumor. The vaccine is given every two weeks over a six-week period and then every two months over a 24-month period, from the first injection.
While vaccines are typically thought of as ways to prevent diseases, some vaccines can also be used in a therapeutic way as an immunostimulant (e.g., to treat cancer). “MimiVax is excited to be partnering with a world-class health care system like Atlantic Health System to join our mission to disrupt cancer,” said Michael J. Ciesielski, PhD; CEO of MimiVax and neuro oncology researcher. “We look forward to working with Dr. Aiken and his team to learn more about this important agent.”
Overlook’s capabilities in treating brain tumors, including an integrated care team, cutting-edge surgical procedures like CyberKnife, as well as conformal radiation, targeted therapy and chemotherapy, surgery guided by fluorescent imaging, brain mapping and awake surgery – in addition to supportive care and comprehensive symptom management – makes it uniquely suited for the trial among hospitals in the region.
SurVaxM demonstrated safety and tolerability in a Phase 1 study in patients with recurrent or progressive malignant glioma as well as a Phase 2a study of newly diagnosed glioblastoma. That led the way for further study; in November, MimiVax LLC, a clinical-stage biotechnology company in Buffalo, NY, USA, developing immunotherapeutics for cancer and autoimmune diseases, received authorization from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin this Phase 2b stage entitled “SURVIVE.”