SAN FRANCISCO and VIENNA, April 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Jennerex, Inc. (San Francisco, CA and Ottawa, Ontario), a clinical-stage cancer biotherapeutics company, today announced the presentation of positive interim data from its randomized Phase 2 clinical trial using JX-594 for the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or liver cancer, at the 45th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) in Vienna, Austria.
“The preliminary data presented today at EASL are very encouraging and validate our clinical experience with JX-594 in patients with advanced HCC who have failed other therapeutic regimens. Patients treated with JX-594 appear to live longer with an improved quality of life,” said Dr. Heo. “Because JX-594 works through a three-pronged mechanism of action--attacking cancerous cells through cell lysis, immune stimulation and vascular disruption -we believe it offers a new and promising therapeutic modality for the treatment of liver cancer patients.”
“We are pleased to be reporting such promising interim results today at EASL, a meeting that attracts leading hepatologists from around the world focused on the discovery of new treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma,” said David H. Kirn, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Jennerex. “We look forward to reporting full results from this trial following its completion. We anticipate opening our pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating JX-594 in combination with sorafenib for first-line therapy of advanced HCC later this year.”
The poxvirus strain backbone of JX-594 has been used safely in millions of people as part of a worldwide vaccination program. This strain naturally targets cancer cells due to common genetic defects in cancer cells. JX-594 was engineered to enhance this natural safety and cancer-selectivity by deleting its thymidine kinase (TK) gene, thus making it dependent on the cellular TK expressed at persistently high levels in cancer cells. To enhance product efficacy, JX-594 is also engineered to express the GM-CSF protein. GM-CSF complements the cancer cell lysis work of the product candidate, leading to a cascade of events resulting in tumor necrosis, tumor vasculature shutdown and an anti-tumoral immune attack.
Jennerex, Inc.
