ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd. is a clinical stage biotechnology company developing immune-based therapies for the treatment of brain and other cancers. The company’s leading product candidate, ICT-107, is a vaccine that targets antigens associated with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common and lethal form of brain cancer. In recent weeks, ImmunoCellular has made progress toward the initiation of phase III clinical trials for the drug candidate, announcing an agreement with Caladrius Biosciences, Inc. for manufacturing services, including processing, packaging, labelling, quality control testing, release, shipping and storage. Building on this progress, patient enrollment for the trial is expected to begin by the early fourth quarter of this year.
When completed, ICT-107 will address a critically underserved market within the medical industry. According to a report by the American Cancer Society, an estimated 10,000 new patients are diagnosed with GBM in the United States each year. Despite advances in surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, recurrence is a near certainty and the median survival time for newly diagnosed GBM patients in only 14.6 months. In ImmunoCellular’s phase II trials for ICT-107, results suggested potential for greatly increased chances of long-term survival when treated with the company’s novel vaccine.
“We believe that we are on track to initiate the ICT-107 phase III trial in the late third quarter or fourth quarter of this year, following completion of the special protocol assessment process with the FDA and finalization of agreements with cancer cooperative groups and our contract research organization, which will manage the trial,” Andrew Gengos, chief executive officer of ImmunoCellular, stated in a news release. “We believe there is significant value in ImmunoCellular, given the breadth of our platforms and our preclinical and clinical assets, led by ICT-107.”
The company’s product pipeline also includes a dendritic cell-based vaccine that targets CD133, an antigen commonly associated with cancer stem cells. This candidate, known as ICT-121, is nearing the start of phase I clinical trials, with patient enrollment actively underway.
Moving forward, ImmunoCellular is in position to realize its corporate goal of becoming an industry-leading commercial-stage cancer immunotherapy company. Its pipeline of commercially attractive assets could provide the company with the opportunity to achieve sustainable returns while effectively transforming the treatment of cancer.
For more information, visit www.imuc.com
