Biomira Presents at American Chemical Society National Meeting
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, March 28 /CNW-PRN/ - Biomira Inc. (Nasdaq: BIOM) (TSE: BRA) presented today at the American Chemical Society's 219th National Meeting and Exposition in San Francisco. Dr. Grant MacLean, Biomira's Vice President of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs, updated the Company's clinical programs and discussed the future of cancer vaccine development.
``Biomira has been one of the driving forces in the emergence of cancer vaccines as the next generation of cancer treatments since our clinical program began a decade ago,' commented Dr. MacLean. ``We now have three exciting product candidates in clinical trials: THERATOPE(R) vaccine for metastatic breast cancer in a Phase III trial, which is enrolling patients in over 100 sites in 10 countries world-wide; BLP25 vaccine, which is being tested in two parallel Phase II trials; and our liposomal patient-specific vaccine, co-developed with Biovector Therapeutics of Toulouse, France, which is being evaluated at the National Cancer Institute in patients with B-cell lymphoma. Further development of our cancer vaccines could include testing products in earlier stage disease, identifying new antigens, testing vaccines in other indications and enhancing the effect of vaccines by the concomitant or associated use of appropriate cytokines.'
The Company's lead product in development, THERATOPE(R) vaccine, is currently being tested in a multinational trial involving up to 900 evaluable patients. Biomira expects to complete enrollment in the last quarter of 2000. In Phase II studies, BLP25 vaccine has induced potent T-cell mediated immune responses in patients with lung cancer which express MUC-1.
Biomira has found that the MUC-1 cancer mucin, upon which our BLP25 vaccine is based, is expressed by over 90 percent of common cancers. Also, a high proportion of patients are responsive to vaccines containing the MUC-1 mucin.
With close to 9,000 members in attendance, the 219th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society is believed to be the largest in history, in terms of attendance and number of presentations. The theme of this meeting is ``What Chemistry May Bring to the 21st Century'. Approximately 9,000 papers are being presented highlighting the latest scientific research in medicine, health, the environment and food.
``We are honored to be part of such a prestigious meeting and have the opportunity to present, to such a diverse audience, our cutting edge technology,' said Alex McPherson, MD, PhD, President and CEO of Biomira.
The American Chemical Society, with over 160,000 members is a self-governed individual membership organization that seeks to foster communication and understanding between members of the chemical industry, the government and the public to enhance the quality of scientific research, support economic progress and ensure public health and safety.
Biomira is a biotechnology company specializing in the development of innovative therapeutic approaches to cancer management. The commitment to the treatment of cancer currently focuses on the development of synthetic vaccines and novel strategies for cancer immunotherapy. We are The Cancer Vaccine People(TM).
This release may contain forward-looking statements. Various factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements, including those predicting the timing of clinical trials, the efficacy of products or the availability of capital. Although the Company believes that the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, it can give no assurance that the Company's expectations are correct. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.
SOURCE: Biomira Inc.
CONTACT: Biomira Company Contacts: Jane Tulloch, Manager, Investor Relations, 780 490-2812; Bill Wickson, Manager Public Relations and Special Assistant, 780 490-2818; Investor Relations, Jonathan Fassberg, The Trout Group, 212 477-9007 X16; Media Contact: Brad Miles, BMC Communications, 212 477-9007 X17 |
