Follow up on CYTO (my long term favorite): Big news today!
quote.yahoo.com
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Wednesday May 16, 5:00 am Eastern Time
Press Release
SOURCE: Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Cytogen Corporation
Progenics Pharmaceuticals and Cytogen Report Positive Immune System Responses From Prostate Cancer Vaccine
- Body's own defenses mobilized to kill cancer cells -
SAN FRANCISCO, May 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PGNX - news) and Cytogen Corporation (Nasdaq: CYTO - news) today announced that in preclinical studies their experimental prostate cancer vaccine generated a potent dual-immune response against PSMA (prostate specific membrane antigen), a well-recognized marker found on prostate cancer cells. The new PSMA-based therapeutic vaccine, which employs the body's own defense mechanisms to identify and destroy prostate cancer cells, yielded both antibodies and killer T cells, the two principal mechanisms used by the immune system to eliminate harmful cells. The findings were presented yesterday by Progenics at the 37th Annual Meeting of The American Society of Clinical Oncology in San Francisco.
(Logo: newscom.com )
``T cell- and antibody-based immunity represent two major arms of the human immune system,'' said William C. Olson, Ph.D., Progenics' Vice President, Research & Development. ``PSMA is an attractive target for vaccine therapy, because it is abundantly expressed on prostate cancer cells. This vaccine may provide a powerful way to train the body's natural defenses to protect against the recurrence of this deadly disease. Importantly, PSMA-based immunotherapy is designed to destroy cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue.''
In the study, mice were immunized with a non-replicating virus that was genetically engineered to contain the human DNA sequence which encodes a form of PSMA protein. Each of the vaccinated animals generated high levels of both antibodies and CD8+ killer T cells that recognized PSMA-expressing target cells but not control cells that do not express PSMA. Unvaccinated animals exhibited no immunity to PSMA.
The PSMA gene was first discovered by scientists at Memorial Sloan- Kettering Cancer Center. PSMA is a cell-surface protein that is abundantly expressed on prostate cancer cells at all stages of disease, including advanced or metastatic disease. Further work has demonstrated that PSMA is also present at high levels on the newly formed blood vessels (neovasculature) needed for the growth and survival of many types of solid tumors. If PSMA- targeted therapies can destroy or prevent formation of these new blood vessels, the therapies may prove valuable in treating a broad range of cancers. The Progenics-Cytogen joint venture, the PSMA Development Company LLC, holds worldwide exclusive rights to PSMA technology for in vivo immunotherapy and is developing a portfolio of therapeutic product candidates designed to target this cancer marker.
Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc., of Tarrytown, NY, is a biopharmaceutical company focusing on the development and commercialization of products for the treatment and prevention of viral, cancer, and other life-threatening diseases. The Company applies its immunological expertise to develop biopharmaceuticals to fight viral diseases, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections, and cancers, such as malignant melanoma and prostate cancer. The Company has initiated Phase II clinical trials of its lead HIV product, PRO 542, a viral-entry inhibitor. The Company is developing follow- on product candidates in HIV infection: PRO 367 has completed a Phase I study, PRO 140 is preparing to commence Phase I/II trials, and a lead therapeutic candidate has been selected from a novel class of anti-HIV compounds known as sulfated CCR5 peptides. The Company is also engaged in programs to discover and develop small-molecule HIV therapeutics that target the fusion co- receptors of the virus and other programs focusing on HIV attachment and fusion. The Company is developing cancer immunotherapies based on PSMA (prostate specific membrane antigen) technology. The Company's most clinically advanced product, GMK, is a cancer vaccine in Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of malignant melanoma. Progenics is also developing a second cancer vaccine, MGV, with broad application to a variety of cancers. The Company is also developing a novel small-molecule antioxidant, dehydroascorbic acid (DHA), to treat stroke and other disorders.
Cytogen Corporation, of Princeton, NJ, is a biopharmaceutical company with an established and growing product line in prostate cancer and other areas of oncology, and a leadership position in proteomics research designed to accelerate drug discovery and development. In oncology, products include ProstaScint® (a monoclonal antibody-based imaging agent used to image the extent and spread of prostate cancer); BrachySeed(TM) (a second-generation radioactive seed implant for the treatment of localized prostate cancer), OncoScint CR/OV(TM) (a monoclonal antibody-based imaging agent for colorectal and ovarian cancer), and Quadramet(TM) (a therapeutic agent marketed for the relief of bone pain in prostate and other types of cancer). Cytogen is evolving a pipeline of oncology product candidates by exploiting its prostate specific membrane antigen, or PSMA, technologies which are exclusively licensed from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. AxCell Biosciences, a subsidiary of Cytogen Corporation, is a leader in the effort to chart protein-signaling pathways for use in accelerating drug discovery and development. In conjunction with InforMax, Inc., AxCell markets the ProChart(TM) database of protein interactions as a discovery and development tool for subscribers in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and agricultural industries. Cytogen plans to use AxCell's findings to develop novel drug targets independently or via collaborative ventures. For more information, visit cytogen.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements. When the Companies use the words ``anticipates,'' ``plans,'' ``expects'' and similar expressions they are identifying forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties which may cause the companies' actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the uncertainties associated with product development, the risk that clinical trials will not commence when or proceed as planned, the risks and uncertainties associated with dependence upon the actions of the companies' corporate, academic and other collaborators and of government regulatory agencies, the risk that products that appear promising in early clinical trials do not demonstrate efficacy in larger-scale clinical trials, the uncertainty of future profitability and other factors set forth more fully in the companies' Annual Reports on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2000 and other periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission to which investors are referred for further information. In particular, the companies cannot assure you that any of the their programs will result in a commercial product. The companies do not have a policy of updating or revising forward-looking statements, and thus it should not be assumed that the companies' silence over time means that actual events are bearing out as expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. |
