Date: 2011-06-06
Type of information:
phase:
Announcement: results
Company: Trion Pharma (Germany) Fresenius Biotech (Germany)
Product: Removab®(catumaxomab)
Action mechanism: Catumaxomab is the most advanced Triomab® trifunctional antibody (anti-EpCAM x anti-CD3). These antibodies bind to cancer-associated surface antigens and recruit both T cells as well as accessory cells, such as macrophages, dendritic cells and natural killer cells, to the tumor site. As a result, they provide for a new quality of cancer cell killing, activating both arms of the immune system – the adaptive one with cytotoxic T cells as effectors and the innate one including accessory effector cells.
Disease: malignant ascites
gastric cancer
Therapeutic area: Cancer - Oncology
Country:
Trial details:
Latest
news: Trion Pharma has announced that the results from two different studies demonstrate catumaxomab’s capacity to activate the immune system in a way that can otherwise only be achieved through vaccination. The data were obtained by two independent research teams using catumaxomab in malignant ascites and gastric cancer, respectively. The results were recently presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
In about half of the analyzed malignant ascites patients and the majority of gastric cancer patients, a significant increase of antibodies against tumor antigens was observed following the intraperitoneal administration of catumaxomab. In both studies, the antibody response was not restricted to catumaxomab’s target antigen EpCAM, but also included further cancer antigens suggesting the induction of a comprehensive humoral immune response against the individual tumor. Three of four patients who received a second treatment cycle showed an even stronger immune effect, comparable to the booster reaction known from repeated vaccination. In the gastric cancer study, cellular immune response was also analyzed and confirmed. The population of EpCAM-specific peripheral T cells was found to be substantially expanded, four weeks following the treatment.
These new results confirm the drug’s unique capacity to trigger several immune response mechanisms at the same time. Catumaxomab not only induces direct tumor cell destruction – as was presented during last year’s ASCO – but also a long-term vaccination effect against the individual tumor.
