I copied this off the AOL techniclone board....Enjoy...
Subject: Lym-1 Works
Date: Mon, Mar 29, 1999
From: JerrySobel
Message-id: <19990329112837.25065.00001803@ng141.aol.com>
Hi-It's a blast from the past. For those of you who remember, for many years I was Techniclone's biggest critic. When my wife first became diagnosed with low grade non hodgkins lymphoma in the spring of ‘94, I researched and invested in biotechs such as Idec, Immunomedics, Genta, Vical, Techniclone, and others who were involved with this disease. Wanting to support companies that might someday be able to help her and at the same time make a couple of bucks, I jumped right in with an open wallet. As time went on, Idec and Vical turned out to be great investments, Immunomedics I broke even with,
Genta I got killed with, and at $6 1/8 a share, Techniclone I got killed with. So it's indeed ironical that my wife and I owe so much gratitude to this little biotech. Following Michelle's original diagnosis we were told that a “watch and wait” approach was most appropriate for indolent low grade lymphoma. Not wanting to wait for the disease to become progressive and deal with standard chemo/radio treatments we chose to go the Burzynski clinic in Houston. There she began a 17 month protocol in which she religiously took 40 “antineoplaston” pills a day. Based on CAT scan results, it had a bout as much effect as putting chewing gum on your nose and spinning around in a circle.
When this failed, we went to Fox Chase in Philadelphia PA and we tried to get her enrolled in Idec's C2B8(Rituxan)clinical trials but by the end of 1995 they were only admitting people who had progressive disease and failed at least 2 regimens of standard
therapy or were recalcitrant chemo. We spoke to the people in Stamford about creating a vaccine from her cancer cells but they also wanted to deal with people who had prior therapy and failed. The same denials came to us from Kaminski in Michigan who was working on what today is known as Bexxar. Although she was still indolent in the winter of ‘96 we still desperately wanted to try something other than primary therapy before the inevitable progression set in.
We got our chance when she was accepted into a clinical trial being held at Deacones Hospital in Boston. A researcher was testing something called anti-tac. This was a monoclonal antibody that was against the the cd-25 antigen and was thought to prevent the tumor from getting IL-2 which some researchers thought was a growth factor for blood tumors. After a great deal of inconvenience, it proved to have absolutely no effect upon her tumors. For most of the next two years we just followed what was going on in the field but were inactive in trying anything new.
By the end of April of ‘98, we no longer had a choice. Michelle came home from the gym one day and noticed she could barely get out of her sneakers. She had severe lymphodema, her entire leg was almost twice its size. Having been approved several months earlier, we were able to convince her onco doc to give her 4 cycles of naked Rituxan in lieu of CHOP. Initially we were happy with the choice because the swelling in the leg went down and the CAT scans proved that there was definite efficacy. But there were still some swollen nodes and her left inguinal area didn't go down and actually became more profound. Upon subsequent biopsy, it was proven that she had progressed
from low grade to high grade NHL. It was now an entirely different ball game. There was no longer time to fool around, she now needed to undergo what we dreaded for 4 years, standard chemo.
Her first round was horrible, her counts dropped precipitously and it took her to the brink. Fortunately, after a ten day stay in the hospital, the remaining 6 months of CHOP were uneventful. After each round, I would give her neuprogen shots for ten days so her
counts would recover. Almost immediately, she began to respond and the nodes began flattening out. But much to our dismay, not more than two weeks following her 8th and last cycle, she noticed enlarged nodes once again appearing in different parts of her body. The damn thing was back and we were in despondent disbelief. Her onco doc was in favor of an autologous stem cell transplant as the next course of action. Bexxar wasn't an option because the clinical data only related to low grade, as did Idec's Y2B8. The only other options open that related to intermediate/high grade was a monoclonal by Immunomedics and Lym-1 by Techniclone.
Having met several prominent scientists throughout the country over the past five years, I discussed the possibilities with them and the consensus was that Lym-1 seems to being doing well for people who test positive for the HLA DR-10 Gamma antigen, which Michelle did. By bi-lateral bone marrow biopsy she also proved to have less than 25%
bone marrow involvement, which was another criteria. Likewise, before being given a therapeutic dose conjugated to the radioactive isotope, she received a tracer dose which showed the Mab going directly to the tumorous sites and lighting them up.
The following week she was placed in isolation and given a therapeutic dose. It's now six weeks later and we can't believe the results. Tumors that were bulging out of her inguinal area are totally flat and can't be felt. This data is supported by CAT scans and the normal readings of her blood work. This has occurred just from one treatment, which by the way, had about as much deleterious effect upon her as taking a vitamin C pill. This Tuesday she goes back to take the second round of this wonderful treatment and we feel
very confident that at the very least, if not a cure, she'll have a long remission.
Unlike chemo, this is an adoptive immunotherapeutic protocol which does not concern itself with daughter cells assuming resistance. As long as you test positive for the antigen
mentioned, the drug can be successfully used over again. The Mab has proven to have a high affinity toward this antigen and does not break it apart into the circulatory system. This wonderful product holds out the hope of treating an “incurable” disease as a chronic one instead.
Are they great business people? Will they turn a profit? Are they out of money? I unequivocally have no answers to these questions. What I can tell you, is what I have told you; my wife after half a treatment has already had a fuller response, for better than twice the amount of time, than everything else I mentioned combined.
Speaking as an can only say that it seems to me that if it's worked so well for my wife, it must be helping other people as well. And if so, the conclusion of the trials, which by the way, have been
going on throughout the U.S. will prove valuable to someone, sooner or perhaps later. So my advice to most of you message board people is this: 1-Get a life and stop talking and following this company on a daily basis. 2-At 1/16 to 1 5/16 the science in this one drug alone should make this a good investment. 3-Save yourself a hassle and don't get non-hodgkins lymphoma, but if you do, be thankful that a little company named Techniclone has a life saving product called Lym-1.
Lots of luck,
Jerry
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