Avid Bioservices Inc (CDMO)

[freethemice]

If you remember this paper I posted in April.
Vascular Endothelial–Targeted Therapy Combined with Cytotoxic Chemotherapy Induces
Inflammatory Intratumoral Infiltrates and Inhibits Tumor Relapses after Surgery
http://www.neoplasia.com/abstract.php?msid=5083
by a group at UPenn, which used Bavi. There is today a new manuscript which has three of the same authors,
plus others, in Clinical Cancer Research.
Intraoperative Near-Infrared Imaging of Surgical Wounds after Tumor Resections Can Detect Residual Disease
http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/early/2012/08/29/1078-0432.CCR-12-1188.abstract
Very interesting use of Near Infrared Imaging (NIR). Remember that Peregrine has presented posters using
NIR-PGN650 imaging, and papers have been published.
http://www.peregrineinc.com/technology/ps-imaging/ps-imaging-data.html
From todays' paper:
Abstract
Background: Surgical resection remains the most effective therapy for solid tumors
worldwide. The most important prognostic indicator for cure following cancer surgery is
a complete resection with no residual disease. However, intraoperative detection of
retained cancer cells after surgery is challenging, and residual disease continues to be the
most common cause of local failure. We hypothesized visual enhancement of tumors
using near-infrared imaging could potentially identify tumor deposits in the wound after
resection.
Methods: A small animal model of surgery and retained disease was developed. Residual
tumor deposits in the wound were targeted using an FDA approved imaging agent,
indocyanine green (ICG), by the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect. A novel
hand-held spectrometer was used to optically visualize retained disease after surgery.
Results: We found residual disease using near-infrared imaging during surgery that was
not visible to the naked eye or microCT. Furthermore, examination of tumor nodules was
remarkably precise in delineating margins from normal surrounding tissues. This
approach was most successful for tumors with increased neovasculature.
Conclusions: The results suggest that near-infrared examination of the surgical wound
after curative resection can potentially enable the surgeon to locate residual disease. The
data in this study is the basis of an ongoing Phase I/II clinical trial in patients who
undergo resection for lung and breast cancer.
Introduction
[snip]
ICG is avidly taken up in solid tumors that have “leaky capillaries” due to the enhanced
permeability and retention (EPR) effect (10). The EPR effect is a property by which
small molecules (ie. nanoparticles) accumulate in tumors due to the presence of defective
endothelial cells and wide fenestrations that characterize neovasculature in cancer tissues
(11). Although ICG is not tumor specific, for purposes of intraoperative diagnostic
imaging, the identification of any abnormal tissues is more important than specificity for cancer deposits.
[snip]

So this group has used Bavi, and NIR-PGN650 has been shown to be a good imaging agent
which is specific for tumors. This suggests to me that NIR-PGN650 could be used in the same way as in this paper.