BioTransplant Harnesses Immune System to Fight Cancer
December 28, 2001 16:54:48 (ET)
CHARLESTOWN, Mass. (CBS.MW) -- A small biotechnology firm says it may have found a way to fight off cancer by using an experimental treatment that rebuilds patients' immune systems.
After disclosing encouraging, early-stage results, BioTransplant Inc. now hopes to advance its novel cancer treatment method into later-stage patient testing during 2002, CEO Elliot Lebowitz said in an interview with CBS.MarketWatch.com .
BioTransplant announced Thursday that the majority of lymphoma patients in a small clinical trial showed improvement after being treated with the company's AlloMune system.
Some patients achieved complete remission while others saw progress of their cancer stopped, Lebowitz said.
After surging 8 percent Thursday, shares of BioTransplant (BTRN, Trade) gained more ground, closing up 34 cents, or 4 percent, to $8.18.
Lebowitz said AlloMune also showed promise in a recent study conducted at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. In that study, 30 percent of patients achieved complete remission, the CEO said.
As is often the case with experimental treatments, the studies have been done on patients who hadn't responded to standard cancer treatments.
"It's been very important in terms of saving some patients who had failed all other therapies," Lebowitz said.
AlloMune, based on research done at Massachusetts General, relies on a two-pronged method of modifying the body's immune system to enhance its ability to fight off cancer.
First, in preparation for a bone marrow transplant, a patient is given an antibody-based drug that initially suppresses the immune system to prevent rejection of donated marrow.
Once the bone marrow -- the source of disease-fighting white blood cells -- has been transplanted, it combines with the patient's own marrow and creates a new immune system that's better able to combat the cancer, Lebowitz said.
The antibody used in the AlloMune system has potential for treating other conditions because of its immune-suppressing properties, the CEO said.
In a separate announcement Thursday, biotech firm MedImmune (MEDI, Trade) said it had completed enrollment in a round of patient testing to evaluate whether BioTransplant's antibody is effective in fighting the skin disease psoriasis.
The larger biotech firm has licensed the rights to the antibody, known as MEDI-507, from BioTransplant. If it were ever approved as a treatment for psoriasis, BioTransplant would receive royalties on sales of the drug.
The company, based in the Charlestown section of Boston, is also working on ways to prevent rejection of transplanted organs.
"Ours is a very rich pipeline," said Lebowitz, who founded BioTransplant a decade ago.
Still, investors should be aware that both profits and approved products are several years away, at best, for BioTransplant. Lebowitz said it would likely be "a few years" before the company applies for marketing clearance to sell AlloMune for the treatment of cancer.
And, as with all biotech firms, BioTransplant has no guarantee its experimental treatments will successfully make it all the way through the patient-testing process.
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