Imugene Ltd (ASX: IMU) Plans for Phase 2 Study for Cancer Drug

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Imugene has partnered with the Medical Universty of Vienna to come up with B-cell peptide vaccines that are being eyed as an alternative to the conventional antibody therapies like Herceptin from Roche.
• The successful completion of Phase 1 of the HER-Vaxx study focused on breast cancer. Phase 2 will focus on the study of gastric cancer.
• Through Imugene’s Mimotopes program, a known antibody is reverse engineered into a vaccine that will serve as an antibody to a particular cancer type.

Australian biopharmaceutical company Imugene Limited is set to go into Phase 2 of the study for the anti-cancer drug after it has successfully completed Phase 1 of the study on breast cancer.

The company is developing the HER-2+ immunotherapies for breast and gastric cancer and is looking to come up with a pipeline of B-cell peptide vaccines for cancer. Phase 2 of the study will focus on stomach or gastric cancer, considered the second most common cause of deaths worldwide related to cancer. There are more than a million new cases of gastric cancer diagnosed every year.

“We have a technology, which invokes your B-cells to produce antibodies against a cancer target. So meaning, we basically invoke your immune system to create the drug, against your cancer target. I have an incredible management and leadership team. This technology was originally founded by Dr Axel Hoos, who is currently the Senior Vice President of GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Limited,” Imugene Limited CEO Leslie Chong said in an interview with the Finance News Network.

HER-Vaxx, the first in-clinic product of the company, has shown promising results in producing the HER-2 antibodies among patients in the early stages of cancer and who were enrolled in the clinical trials. The production of the antibodies is eyed to provide a more potent alternative to the more popular Herceptin, an injectable antibody from Roche with annual sales of more than $US6.7 billion.

This has led to the entry of investors like Platinum Capital Limited and other portfolio managers to underwrite the company’s options which brought fresh fundings for the company. Chong said the market cap of the company has increased from $10 million to $40 million from the time she joined Imugene two years ago.

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