TroVax impresses in Ph II mCRC trial

UK-based biopharmaceutical firm Oxford Biomedica says that data from a Phase II study of its immunotherapy product TroVax, which is being developed in partnership with French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis, indicate that the agent is effective in the treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. Specifically, the trial showed that the drug, when given in conjunction with chemotherapy, brought about a clinical response, defined as tumor shrinkage, in six of the 17 patients treated.

The assessment, details of which were published in the August 1 edition of the journal Clinical Cancer Research, was designed to demonstrate TroVax' safety and immunogenicity when combined with standard chemotherapy. Oxford explained that, unlike preventative vaccines, TroVax is a therapeutic product capable of delivering the gene encoding the 5T4 protein, found on the surface of many tumors, to the body's immune system, thereby eliciting a response to tumors expressing the molecule.

Researchers monitoring the study reported that 11 of the 17 patients that received the full course of six vaccinations mounted strong responses to 5T4, six of whom demonstrated significant reductions in tumor size. The team noted that, although the program had not been designed to examine survival benefits associated with TroVax, on average all 17 of the treated patients achieved overall median survival of 68 weeks, while average survival in the 11 responders was 118 weeks.