The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a key patent covering the use of Galena Biopharma's NeuVax for inducing immunity to breast cancer recurrence in patients having low-to-intermediate IHC levels of 1+ or 2+ and a FISH rating of less than 2.0.
NeuVax, a human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)/neu peptide vaccine, consists of the E75 peptide derived from HER2 combined with the immune adjuvant granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF).
NeuVax president and CEO Mark Ahn said, "As we continue to make progress with the clinical development of NeuVax, issuance of this patent from the USPTO underscores our commitment to support and advance our proprietary oncology pipeline."
Treatment with NeuVax stimulates cytotoxic (CD8+) T cells in a highly specific manner to target cells expressing any level of HER2.
The patients having low-to-intermediate IHC levels of 1+ or 2+ and a FISH rating of less than 2.0 represent a significant unmet medical need, with as much as 80% of breast cancer patients who do not qualify for Herceptin therapy.
