ImmunoCellular Therapeutics (OTCBB:IMUC) said Tuesday it will present positive results from a phase 1 clinical study on its ICT-107 therapy, a treatment for glioblastoma multiforme, which is an aggressive type of brain tumor.
The Los Angeles, California-based company will present its abstract from the study at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology on June 4, in Chicago, Illinois.
ImmunoCellular’s ICT-107 technology is a vaccine that uses cancer stem cells (CSCs) to target multiple tumour-associated antigens, which generate an antibody response from the body’s immune system.
According to the company, scientists found correlations between the immune response triggered by ICT-107 antigens, and both the progression-free survival and overall survival of patients in the trial.
ImmunoCellular’s presentation will suggest that targeting antigens that have a high concentration of cancer stem cells, which play a large role in the resistance and recurrence of tumours, is a promising strategy for treating patients with this type of brain tumour.
Indeed, after two years of the study, the company reported an 80% overall survival rate and a 44% progression-free survival rate. Six of the 16 clinical patients are now disease-free.
“These findings provide further validation of immunotherapy as a therapeutic strategy for seeking out and destroying CSCs and preventing tumor recurrence,” said president and CEO, Dr. Manish Singh.
“We look forward to further investigating the potential of ICT-107 to provide a safe and effective treatment option for GBM in our ongoing Phase II study.”
ImmunoCellular’s promising results prompted a 5.33% hike in the company’s shares, which were trading at $1.78 around 2pm EST on Tuesday. —Olivia D’Orazio