Bavarian Nordic Announces First Patient Treated in a Phase 2 Study Evaluating Its Immunotherapy Candidate CV-301 in Bladder C...
April 28 2014 - 2:54AM
Bavarian Nordic A/S (OMX: BAVA, OTC: BVNRY) announced today the
first patient has now been treated in a randomized, prospective
Phase 2 study of its active immunotherapy candidate CV-301 in
bladder cancer.
In the study, sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, 54
patients with high grade non-muscle invasive bladder cancer whose
cancer has progressed after initial BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guerin)
treatment will be treated with BCG alone or in combination with
CV-301. BCG has been approved in many countries to prevent the
recurrence of superficial bladder tumors.
The study's primary endpoint is to determine if there is an
improvement in disease-free survival for patients receiving BCG
treatment and CV-301 immunotherapy compared to those receiving BCG
treatment alone. It is the hypothesis that the combined
administration of BCG and CV-301 may augment the BCG-induced
cytotoxic T lymphocyte response against bladder cancer cells
expressing MUC-1 and/or CEA and potentially reverse BCG failure in
patients that progressed following a prior induction course of the
therapy. Lead investigator for the study is Piyush K. Agarwal,
M.D., Head, Bladder Cancer Section, National Cancer Institute,
NIH.
An abstract on this study, entitled "A Randomized, Prospective,
Phase II Study to Determine the Efficacy of Bacillus
Calmette-Guerin (BCG) given in combination with PANVAC versus BCG
given alone in Adults with High Grade Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder
Cancer (NMIBC) who failed at least 1 Induction Course of BCG," has
been accepted for presentation in the Trials in Progress section at
the 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL from May 30 to June 3.
Abstract #TPS4590. Poster Board: #157B. Presenter: Sam Joseph
Brancato, M.D.
James B. Breitmeyer, President of Bavarian Nordic's Cancer
Immunotherapy Division said: "We are very pleased that development
of our cancer immunotherapy candidates is expanding further into
new indications and new combination approaches. We are hopeful that
combination therapy with CV-301 will yield positive results for
bladder cancer patients who currently face limited treatment
options."
Anders Hedegaard, President & CEO.
Contacts
Rolf Sass Soerensen, Vice President Investor Relations (EU).
Phone +45 61 77 47 43 Seth Lewis, Vice President Investor Relations
(US). Phone + 1 978-298-5654
About CV-301
CV-301 (formerly developed as PANVAC) is an immunotherapy
product candidate for the treatment of multiple cancers. It
originates from the same poxvirus technology platform as
PROSTVAC.
Both PROSTVAC and CV-301 are prime-boost vaccines sequentially
combining two different poxviruses (vaccinia and fowlpox).
Collectively, these two product candidates, along with earlier
generations of these vaccines, have been the subject of over 30
clinical trials with more than 1,100 patients actively treated for
prostate, breast, lung, colorectal, gastric, pancreatic, ovarian
and other cancers. These extensive clinical studies suggest that
the product candidates are well-tolerated with the ability to
induce specific immune responses directed against the relevant
tumor-associated antigens.
While PROSTVAC incorporates a single antigen over-expressed in
prostate cancer (PSA), CV-301 incorporates two antigens (CEA and
MUC-1) that are over-expressed in other major cancers, including
breast, colon, bladder and other cancers, which makes CV-301
potentially applicable in various cancers.
About bladder cancer
In developed countries, more than 250,000 people are diagnosed
every year with bladder cancer. Approximately one third of the
patients present with high-grade non-muscular invasive bladder
cancer, which is extremely difficult to treat due to high
recurrence and progression rates. The standard of care is a single
induction of intravesical BCG treatment followed by maintenance
therapy. Unfortunately, high recurrence rates of 50% lead to a
significant unmet need.
Bladder cancer is well known to respond to immunotherapy, and
BCG was the first modern immunotherapy to be approved in many
countries to prevent the recurrence of superficial bladder tumors.
BCG is a vaccine against tuberculosis that is prepared from
attenuated (weakened) live bovine tuberculosis bacillus that has
lost its virulence in humans. BCG immunotherapy is effective in up
to 2/3 of the cases at this stage. The mechanism by which BCG
prevents recurrence is unknown, but may involve a localized immune
reaction which clears residual cancer cells.
Although a second induction course can be used in patients who
fail a single induction course of BCG, only 35% of patients who
failed an initial induction course will experience 12 month
disease-free survival after receiving a second induction course.
For those patients failing a second induction course, radical
cystectomy with pelvic lymphadenectomy is the recommended
treatment, although it has a high morbidity rate and a small but
real mortality rate. Therefore, there is an unmet need for
localized treatment for patients who fail an initial induction
course of BCG that can potentially improve upon the poor results of
a second induction course of BCG.
About Bavarian Nordic
Bavarian Nordic is an international biotechnology company
developing and manufacturing novel cancer immunotherapies and
vaccines for infectious diseases. Lead product candidates are
PROSTVAC(r), an immunotherapy product candidate for advanced
prostate cancer that is the subject of an ongoing pivotal Phase 3
clinical trial and IMVAMUNE(r), a non-replicating smallpox vaccine
candidate in Phase 3 development, which is being developed and
supplied for emergency use to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile
under a contract with the U.S. Government. The vaccine is approved
in Canada under the trade name IMVAMUNE and in the European Union
under the trade name IMVANEX(r).
Bavarian Nordic's shares are listed on NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen
under the symbol BAVA (Reuters: BAVA.CO, Bloomberg: BAVA.DC). The
company has a sponsored Level 1 ADR program listed in the US (OTC)
under the symbol BVNRY.
For more information, visit www.bavarian-nordic.com.
Forward-looking statements
This announcement includes forward-looking statements that
involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are
outside of our control that could cause actual results to differ
materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements include statements
concerning our plans, objectives, goals, future events, performance
and/or other information that is not historical information. We
undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise
forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or
circumstances after the date made, except as required by law.
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