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immatics launches Phase 2 study on cancer vaccine IMA901 |
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26 Sep 2007 |
Immatics biotechnologies announced the start of a Europe-wide Phase 2 clinical study on its IMA901 product candidate, a peptide-based therapeutic vaccine for the treatment of renal cell cancer
TUEBINGEN, Germany | September 25, 2007 | Today immatics biotechnologies announced the start of a Europe-wide Phase 2 clinical study on its IMA901 product candidate, a peptide-based therapeutic vaccine for the treatment of renal cell cancer. With this move, the Tuebingen-based biotechnology company is swiftly building upon its Phase 1 study, which was successfully concluded in 2006 and whose highly promising results were presented at this year’s Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago. In addition to safety and tolerability, the Phase 1 study also demonstrated IMA901’s immunological efficacy, as well as a correlation between the immune response that it stimulates and a stabilization of the disease in renal cell cancer patients.
The Phase 2 study which has started in September will treat some 70 patients in ten European countries who suffer from metastatic renal cell cancer. The first patient was treated with IMA901 at the Charité Hospital in Berlin, Germany. Prof. Dr. Alexander Schmittel, Head of the Department of Haematology and Oncology, notes: “We definitively hope that this potential immunotherapeutic from immatics represents an alternative treatment method for our patients who suffer from renal cell cancer.”
immatics’ Chief Medical Officer Dr. Juergen Frisch stresses the fast pace of development for IMA901. In less than three years since the launch of preclinical development, he explains, immatics has succeeded in concluding the first clinical phase quickly, efficiently and with convincing results. Frisch: “With the swift launch of the Phase 2 study, immatics is underscoring its professionalism and competence in the clinical development of product candidates. We are firmly convinced that IMA901 will be able to provide a significant improvement in the treatment of renal cell cancer.”
SOURCE: immatics |
