Stanford Rook's SRL172 Shows Promise

An open-label study of Stanford Rook Holdings' immunotherapeutic agentSRL172 in 36 melanoma patients has seen positive clinical and immunological responses, says the company.

SRL172, which contains killed Mycobacteriun vaccae, produced clinical responses, where skin lesions progressed at a reduced rate or diminished in size, in about a quarter of patients. In addition, patients who responded well to the drug also demonstrated a cytokine response, with a production of interleukin-2 and gamma interferon, which may be a useful predictor of a positive clinical response, it says. The therapy, also being tested in ovarian and lung cancers, is well-tolerated and not linked to serious side effects.