Innovative Immunotherapies Emerging as the Cancer Treatments of the Future

NEW YORK, March 23, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

NetworkNewsWire Editorial Coverage 

Cancer remains one of the world's leading causes of death, putting significant strain on health care systems, in terms of costs and resources. However, as the number of cancer diagnoses rises, so too does the development of innovative and efficient therapies that demonstrate higher chances of success with minimum side effects. Among the many types of cancer treatments, a growing number of patients receiving immuno-oncology therapies are reporting impressive results. In this landscape, leading biotech companies such as TapImmune, Inc. (NASDAQ: TPIV) (TPIV Profile), OncoSec Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ONCS),Agenus, Inc. (NASDAQ: AGEN),Immune Design Corp. (NASDAQ: IMDZ) and Kite Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: KITE) are giving patients hope by introducing new, effective classes of immunotherapy drugs for a wide range of cancers.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), cancer is the second-leading cause of death worldwide, responsible for about 8.8 million deaths in 2015. Statistically, one in six deaths is caused by cancer. Most of these deaths were caused by lung cancer, followed by liver, colorectal, stomach and breast cancer. In addition, the WHO expects a 70-percent rise in the number of new cases over the next two decades. In 2016 alone, there were an estimated 1.7 million new cases of cancer in the United States, with approximately 595,000 deaths. Subsequently, annual cancer drug spending is also on the rise, expected to exceed $150 billion by 2020, according to a report by IMS Health Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: IMS). The 10.5 percent increase is largely driven by the emergence of new immunotherapies that are designed to help cancer patients' immune systems learn how to attack tumors.

An innovative immunotherapy approach comes from TapImmune, Inc. (NASDAQ: TPIV) (TPIV Profile), whose next-generation technology can overcome the deficiencies of earlier vaccines and become a powerful therapy on its own or in combination with other types of immunotherapies. The company is developing two vaccines that target both helper T-cells (CD4) and killer T-cells (CD8) and are directed against specific proteins that are present on the surface of most target tumor cells. Being comprised of naturally processed antigens deriving from immune responses recognized by over 85 percent of the population, these off-the-shelf vaccines have the potential to successfully target and trigger a durable anti-immune response in a very large field of patients.

TapImmune is currently running several phase II clinical trials that study the vaccines' safety and patient response, in particular for cases of ovarian and breast cancer. With plans to attain Food Drug Administration Orphan Disease and Fast Track designation for both vaccines, the company is working closely with industry leaders such as Mayo Clinic, AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE: AZN) or Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

In addition to its T-cell vaccine candidates, TapImmune is developing a proprietary and groundbreaking peptide expression system meant to make DNA-based immunotherapy more effective. PolyStart™ is significantly more efficient than existing antigen expression technologies, as it can enhance the recognition of target cells by the immune system, making them easier to be identified and eliminated. The proprietary technology is still in preclinical development, and it has the potential to increase the efficiency of any DNA vaccine, including the company's own T-cell vaccines, as well as other inoculation types that target cancer or infectious diseases, whether in development or already on the market.

Another company focusing on innovative DNA-based cancer therapy is OncoSec Medical (NASDAQ: ONCS). The company's lead product candidate, which recently received FDA Fast Track designation, is ImmunoPulse® IL-12, an intratumoral anti-cancer gene therapy currently in phase II clinical trials for various cancer types such as triple negative breast cancer or metastatic melanoma. The ImmunoPulse® IL-12 program's focus is now on the unmet medical needs of patients with melanoma who are non-responsive to traditional therapies. In addition to ImmunoPulse® IL-12, OncoSec is developing other immune-targeting agents with the help of the ImunoPulse® technology, which is designed to enhance the delivery and uptake of DNA-based immune-targeting agents.

A wide range of immunotherapies, including but not limited to cancer vaccines and checkpoint antibodies, comes from Agenus (NASDAQ: AGEN). The company also focuses on various combination therapy approaches, with the end goal of making cancer immunotherapy available to a broader patient population. Its lead product candidates include Prophage - a heat shock protein-based vaccine targeting glioblastoma; PhosphoSynVax - a vaccine targeting a new class of tumor specific neoepitopes; AutoSynVax - a neo-antigen based vaccine that targets neo-epitopes in cancer patients; and several checkpoint modulator product candidates. What sets Agenus apart is its suite of antibody discovery platforms, such as the Retrocyte Display™ which screens and generates antibody therapies by incorporating human antibodies expressed in mammalian B-lymphocyte cases.

Immune Design (NASDAQ: IMDZ) is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company with a pipeline of first-in-class immunotherapy candidates. Its two primary product candidates, CMB305 and G100, are currently in multiple phase I and phase II clinical trials. These candidates utilize two separate approaches (specific antigen and intratumoral immunization) designed to generate strong, tumor-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and overcome limitations of existing therapies. The specific antigen approach uses selected antigens found in the patient's tumor, which enables the immune system to recognize the tumor antigen and kill tumor cells expressing the antigen. In contrast, the intratumoral immunization approach uses treatments such as chemotherapy or local radiation to lyse tumors and release endogenous antigens, which are then captured by neighboring G100-activated dendritic cells - this approach is intended to generate a broad and varied immune response. 

Another innovative approach in the development of cancer immunotherapy products comes from Kite Pharma (NASDAQ: KITE). Focusing on creating chimeric antigen receptor and T-cell receptor cell therapies with the declared goal of offering rapid and durable immunotherapeutic solutions to cancer patients, this clinical-stage biotech company has developed several autologous cell therapy-based products targeting solid and hematological malignancies. Its flagship product is KTE-C19, a chimeric antigen receptor undergoing several clinical trials. A recent study targeting relapsed/refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma yielded very promising results, with 73 percent of patients responding to the treatment and 55 percent going into complete remission.

For more information on TapImmune Inc. please visit: TapImmune, Inc. (TPIV) or http://www.Tapimmune.com

About NetworkNewsWire 

NetworkNewsWire (NNW) provides news aggregation and syndication, enhanced press release services and a full array of social communication solutions. As a multifaceted financial news and distribution company with an extensive team of contributing journalists and writers, NNW is uniquely positioned to best serve private and public companies that desire to reach a wide audience of investors, consumers, journalists and the general public. NNW has an ever-growing distribution network of more than 5,000 key syndication outlets across the country. By cutting through the overload of information in today's market, NNW brings its clients unparalleled visibility, recognition and brand awareness. NNW is where news, content and information converge.

NetworkNewsWire (NNW)

New York, New York

http://www.NetworkNewsWire.com     

Please see full disclaimers on the NetworkNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by NNW, wherever published or re-published: http://NNW.fm/Disclaimer

DISCLAIMER: NetworkNewsWire (NNW) is a source of content listed above. References to any issuer other than the profiled issuer are intended solely to identify industry participants and do not constitute an endorsement of any issuer or comparison to the profiled issuer. FN Media Group, LLC (FNM), is a third-party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels. FNM is NOT affiliated with NNW or any company mentioned herein. The commentary, views and opinions expressed in this release by NNW are solely those of NNW and are not shared by and do not reflect in any manner the views or opinions of FNM.  Readers of this content agree that they cannot and will not seek to hold liable NNW and FNM for any investment decisions by their readers or subscribers. FNM and its affiliated companies are a news dissemination and financial marketing solutions provider and are NOT a registered broker-dealer/analyst/adviser, hold no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security. FNM was not compensated by any public company mentioned herein to disseminate this press release. NNW's compensation disclosure is incorporated herein and appears in full at http://NNW.fm/Disclaimer

NNW & FNM HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE.

This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may", "future", "plan" or "planned", "will" or "should", "expected," "anticipates", "draft", "eventually" or "projected". You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company's annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and NNW & FNM undertakes no obligation to update such statements.

Media Contact e-mail:
FN Media Group, LLC
editor@financialnewsmedia.com
+1-954-345-0611