Dr. Michael Har-Noy to Present at the Inaugural European Immunotherapy and Cancer Vaccine Congress in Brussels, Belgium
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - November 27, 2012) -
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The recent FDA approvals of Dendreon's Provenge cancer vaccine for prostate cancer and Bristol Myers Squibb's Yervoy immunotherapy drug for melanoma has sparked a resurgence of interest in immunotherapies and cancer vaccines. The organizer of the Congress, Informa Life Sciences, predicts that by 2014 that 3 of the top 10 cancer drugs will be immunotherapy drugs. Major pharmaceutical companies are launching immunotherapy drug development programs to enter this lucrative market and many of the leading companies are making presentations at the Congress. A full program can be viewed on-line at:
http://www.informa-ls.com/appdata/downloads/CQ3486_Immunotherapies_VIP_TT37.pdf
Dr. Har-Noy will be speaking at the Novel Approaches for Enhancing the Immune Response session held on December 5. The title of his presentation is: "Harnessing the power of the graft vs. tumor effect of non-myeloablative allogeneic stem cell transplants to enhance the effectiveness of cancer vaccine strategies."
Cancer vaccines are a promising new approach for cancer treatment. However, while autologous, patient-specific, anti-tumor vaccine protocols have been shown to elicit increased titers of tumor-specific immune cells, only a small portion of these vaccinated patients demonstrate clinical benefit. The minimal clinical benefits from these tumor vaccine strategies have been attributed to tumor immunoavoidance mechanisms and tumor-influenced activation of immunosuppressive circuits, including induction of FoxP3+ regulatory T cells (Treg) and loss of cellular immunity. While the efficacy of anti-cancer vaccines is hampered by these mechanisms, these mechanisms have been shown to be overcome in the setting of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) where the immune-mediated graft vs. tumor effect (GVT) represents a curative mechanism for many patients with advanced hematological malignancies and has also been shown to be capable of debulking chemotherapy-resistant metastatic disease. This GVT effect has been described as the most powerful and most effective anti-tumor mechanism ever discovered in humans.
However, the clinical applicability of the GVT effect is severely limited due to the morbidity and mortality of the related immune-mediated effect known as graft vs. host disease (GVHD) which occurs when engrafted donor cells attack the normal tissues of the host. The GVT and GVHD effects are intimately linked and attempts to separate these effects have been difficult to demonstrate in the clinic. ITL's Mirror Effect™ technology is believed to be the first clinical evidence of harvesting the power of the GVT mechanism without GVHD toxicity.
Dr. Har-Noy stated: "I will be discussing at the Congress the potential for our Mirror Effect™ technology and our lead AlloStim™ immunotherapy drug candidate to work as an adjuvant to enhance the efficacy of cancer vaccines. I will present supporting data from our first human trials of AlloVax™ to demonstrate the power of AlloStim™ in combination with a tumor antigens to enhance immune response and overcome tumor immunoavoidance mechanisms. I look forward to networking with leaders in cancer vaccine development in order to establish the relationships that could eventually lead to collaborations, licensing or other joint development efforts."
Seth Shaw, CEO of IMUN, stated: "We are honored that our technology was selected by the organizers as a leading example of a novel approach to enhance the immune system. We look forward to increasing the awareness of our technology in Europe and in the networking opportunities available at the Congress. We are seeking partners with vaccine technology platforms that could be enhanced when combined with AlloStim™. This Congress will serve to introduce our technology to leaders in the European cancer vaccine business community and is also an opportunity for us to learn more about the technologies and development efforts of leading companies in the cancer vaccine field."
About Immunovative, Inc.:
On December 12th, 2011, Immunovative, Inc. ("IMUN") signed an exclusive License Agreement (the "License Agreement") with Immunovative Therapies, Ltd. ("ITL"). Under the terms of the License Agreement, IMUN has been granted an exclusive, worldwide license to commercialize any products covered under ITL's current issued and pending patent application portfolio, as well as the rights to any future patent applications, including improvements or modifications to the existing applications and any corresponding improvements or new versions of the existing products. Please visit IMUN's website at www.imun.com.
About Immunovative Therapies, Ltd.:
Immunovative Therapies, Ltd. is an Israeli biopharmaceutical company that was founded in May 2004 with financial support from the Israeli Office of the Chief Scientist. ITL is a graduate of the Misgav Venture Accelerator, a member of the world-renowned Israeli technological incubator program. The company was the Misgav Venture Accelerator's candidate for the prize for the outstanding incubator project of 2006, awarded by the Office of the Chief Scientist. ITL specializes in the development of novel immunotherapy drug products that incorporate living immune cells as the active ingredients for treatment of cancer and infectious disease. Please visit ITL's website at: www.immunovative.co.il
DISCLAIMER:
Forward-Looking Statements: Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, without limitation expectations, beliefs, plans and objectives regarding the development, use and marketability of products. Such forward-looking statements are based on present circumstances and on IMUN's predictions with respect to events that have not occurred, that may not occur, or that may occur with different consequences and timing than those now assumed or anticipated. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, and are not guarantees of future performance or results and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from the events or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include general economic and business conditions, the ability to successfully develop and market products, consumer and business consumption habits, the ability to fund operations and other factors over which IMUN has little or no control. Such forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this release, and IMUN assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. Readers should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Risks, uncertainties and other factors are discussed in documents filed from time to time by IMUN with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact:
For more information please contact:
Mr. Seth M. Shaw
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Immunovative, Inc.
New York: +1-917-796-9926
Montreal: +1-514-840-3697
Email: Email Contact
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