Theralase Anti-Cancer Vaccine Validated in Colorectal Cancer
Toronto, Ontario (FSCwire) - Theralase Technologies Inc. (“Theralase®” or the “Company”) (TSXV: TLT) (OTCQX: TLTFF), a leading biotech company focused on the commercialization of medical lasers to eliminate pain and the development of Photo Dynamic Compounds (“PDCs”) to destroy cancer has announced that it has validated its new anti-cancer vaccine in an additional animal cancer model for colorectal cancer.
The new anti-cancer vaccine was validated in a subcutaneous, colorectal cancer cell (CT.26 WT) mouse model, demonstrating that Theralase’s new anti-cancer vaccine is not solely limited to GlioBlastoma Multiforme (“GBM”) brain cancer cells (previously validated in a Rat Glioma (“RG2”) model), but is also able to be adapted to other types of cancer cell lines, in which the animal’s immune system is stimulated and subsequently programmed to hunt, recognize and destroy cancer cells of specific types.
In Theralase conducted research, it was demonstrated that the new anti-cancer vaccine was able to increase well established biomarkers of the immunological destruction of cancer cells, such as increased Adenosine TriPhosphate (“ATP”) release and increased calreticulin surface expression for colorectal cancer cells.
Extracellular ATP quantification:
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Cell surface expression of calreticulin was increased by 87% over control:
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To evaluate the new anti-cancer vaccine in animals, mice were vaccinated and then implanted with colorectal cancer cells utilising an established model of colorectal carcinoma. Vaccinated mice were able to survive 58% longer on average than non-vaccinated mice. This increase in survival was due to a significant growth delay in tumor size.
Survival analysis after tumor induction:
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Tumour volume after tumour induction:
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Excluding skin cancers, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in both men and women in the United States. The American Cancer Society’s estimates that the number of colorectal cancer cases in the United States for 2017 are:
95,520 new cases of colon cancer
39,910 new cases of rectal cancer
Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women in the United States and the second leading cause in men. It is expected to cause about 50,260 deaths in 2017.
Mark Roufaiel, Ph.D., Research Scientist, Theralase stated, “The latest data supports our understanding that the new anti-cancer vaccine approach developed by Theralase is able to induce a potent, anti-tumour, immune response that can significantly delay recurrence and progression of various metastatic tumors, leading to a significant increase in animal survival. This new research demonstrates that the Theralase anti-cancer vaccine approach is not limited to any specific type of cancer and is thus able to be adapted to be effective for the treatment of various cancers.”
Manjunatha Ankathatti Munegowda, Ph.D., DVM, Research Scientist, Theralase, stated that, “The Theralase anti-cancer vaccine has now demonstrated significant therapeutic benefit in both an aggressive RG2 GBM brain cancer animal model and in a colorectal tumor animal model. This finding supports the understanding that this vaccine has utility for multiple cancer indications, irrespective of the presence of genetic mutations, physical location of the cancer or the origin of the disease. As an anti-cancer vaccine that is intramuscularly injected into an animal, it is able to directly stimulate the immune system to hunt, recognize and destroy cancer cells of a specific type and in doing so, increase the animal’s quality of life and overall survival.”
Arkady Mandel, M.D., Ph.D., D.Sc., Chief Scientific Officer, Theralase stated: “The scientific and clinical objectives were clearly defined by our scientific research team, prior to undertaking a project of this magnitude; however, there was always one critical question that remained, ‘How do we systematically address the mutations that are unique to an individual patient’s tumour, but at the same time develop a anti-cancer vaccine that has the ability to directly influence several amplification pathways to stimulate a whole body anti-cancer immune response in patients with various forms of cancer?’ I’m pleased to report that we were able to answer this question, in animals, in the form of Theralase’s anti-cancer vaccine, which has now been validated in two distinct animal cancer models; specifically: GBM brain cancer and colorectal cancer and both have demonstrated a significant increase in overall survival for two distinct animal species (mice and rats). The next objective of our research will be to validate whether the significant results we have observed in our animal models is able to be successfully translated to humans. The hope is that Theralase’s anti-cancer vaccine will demonstrate significant clinical activity in humans, as well, with improvements in patient outcomes versus current standards of care. As we advance our scientific research, we are steadily overcoming the obstacles on our road to success, with the realization that fully personalized anti-cancer vaccines for numerous human cancers are within our grasp and are quickly becoming a reality.”
Roger Dumoulin-White, P.Eng., President and CEO of Theralase stated that, “The additional validation of the new anti-cancer vaccine, in colorectal cancer, only emboldens the entire Company that the path we have chosen is the correct one and as a result we all look forward to making a significant stride forward in the war on cancer. I look forward to advancing Dr. Mandel’s and his team’s cutting-edge scientific research to the clinic, in the form of a Phase Ib clinical study and successfully demonstrating these significant results clinically in humans.”
