ImmunoCellular Therapeutics' Antibody Shows Promise in Detecting Pancreatic and Lung Cancer in Serum Test
Wednesday September 30, 2009, 8:00 am EDT
LOS ANGELES, CA -- (BUSINESS WIRE) -- ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd. (OTCBB: IMUC) a clinical-stage biotechnology company that is developing immune-based therapies for the treatment of brain and other cancers, announced today results from its pilot study evaluating the cancer detection abilities of one of its lead monoclonal antibody product candidates, ICT-109. Data from this study demonstrated that ICT-109 had a statistically significant ability to discriminate between cancerous and non-cancerous samples, suggesting the potential to detect pancreatic and lung cancer in plasma and serum study sets. The study used reverse phase micro array technology to determine serum and plasma expression levels of glycosylated CEA, and was performed in collaboration with Dr. Emanuel Petricoin at George Mason University. Dr. Petricoin is a renowned microbiologist who was a senior investigator with the US FDA's Office of Cell Tissue and Gene Therapies in the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research earlier in his career. He and his colleague, Lance Liotta, invented the Reverse Phase Protein Microarray technology.
Researchers at George Mason University investigated the ability of ICT-109 to detect pancreatic and lung cancer by binding specifically to glycosylated epitopes of CEA-CAM6 and CEA-CAM5, two common markers that are overly expressed in a majority of cancers. Glycosylated CEA is highly expressed in patients with pancreatic and lung cancers, and can be used to detect these cancers using a direct blood test.
"The results from this study encourage us to believe that ICT-109 could become an important component of future diagnostic technologies for the reliable and early detection of cancers for which early detection is critical for effective treatment," commented Manish Singh, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of IMUC. "This ability to in many cases detect the markers associated with cancer could be combined with therapeutic applications for ICT-109 to deliver a treatment for small cell lung cancer and pancreatic cancers in the not too distant future. With this promising data, we look forward to conducting additional studies of ICT-109 in combination with other markers to design a sufficiently robust assay for early stage detection of these cancers that could potentially be widely adopted as a diagnostic tool in this field. The next step is to find a partner within the diagnostic space to further develop and commercialize this approach."
Petricoin added, "Identification of protein biomarkers that can discriminate early stage lung and pancreatic cancer from benign lesions and inflammatory conditions could aid in the detection of these cancers when treatment could provide the best results." He went on to say, "I'm particularly excited and intrigued that the specific protein biomarkers that ICT-109 binds to are abnormally glycosylated. If one had looked at the total levels of the protein alone, they would not have been able to discriminate the diseases. Only when we utilized ImmunoCellular's specific antibody that only binds to the proteins when they are abnormally glycosylated did we get these exciting results. This demonstrates a unique aspect of proteomics that genomics cannot provide."
About ImmunoCellular Therapeutics
IMUC is a Los Angeles-based clinical-stage company that is developing immune based therapies for the treatment of brain and other cancers. IMUC expects its "off the shelf" therapeutic vaccine product candidate targeting cancer stem cells for multiple cancer indications to enter clinical trials for brain cancer in early 2010. IMUC is in pre-clinical development of a monoclonal antibody product candidate for the treatment of small cell lung cancer and pancreatic cancer, and is also evaluating its platform technology for monoclonal antibody discovery using differential immunization for diagnosing and treating multiple types of cancer. To learn more about IMUC, please visit www.imuc.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including the risk that the ICT-109 in combination with other compounds or technologies will not be sufficiently reliable in detecting cancer to support its commercial use as a diagnostic product; that patents issued for IMUC's monoclonal antibody product candidates may not be enforceable or may not provide commercially significant protection for these candidates; the need to confirm preliminary pre-clinical data for IMUC's lead monoclonal antibody and other monoclonal antibody product candidates; the risks associated with pre-clinical and clinical development of monoclonal antibody and other product candidates, including the need to modify these candidates or combine them with other technologies to enhance their tumor killing capabilities; the need for substantial additional capital to fund development of product candidates beyond their initial clinical or pre-clinical stages; and the potential inability to secure corporate partners or licensees for development of the monoclonal antibody product candidates. Additional risks and uncertainties are described in IMUC's most recently filed SEC documents, such as its most recent annual report on Form 10-K, all quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and any current reports on Form 8-K, IMUC undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Contact Information:
ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd.
CEOcast, Inc.
Gary Nash
Investor Relations
Tel: (212) 732-4300
Email: Gnash@ceocast.com
Source: ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd.
Please view this press release and other ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd. press releases at other fine sites.
