Broad T Cell Response Supports Prostate Cancer Strategy
WALTHAM, Mass., March 13 /PRNewswire/ --
AltaRex Corp. (TSE: AXO, OTC: ALXFF) announced today that Dr. Dean L. Mann, a
key Company collaborator, presented important new results demonstrating the
ability of ProstaRex(TM) MAb, an antibody to the Prostate Specific Antigen
(PSA), to activate broad T cell immune system responses in an in vitro
dendritic cell model. Importantly, the cellular immune responses generated
consist of both T helper cell and cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activation.
The activation of both, rather than either alone, is believed to be the most
effective at fighting chronic disease, such as cancer, but has been rarely
achieved. The study results are a substantial step forward in the Company's
plans to advance ProstaRex(TM) into clinical trials for the treatment of
prostate cancer.
Dr. Mann presented the ProstaRex(TM) study results today at the Keystone
Symposium titled "Dendritic Cells: Interfaces with Immunobiology and
Medicine" being held in Taos, New Mexico. Keystone Symposia is a non-profit
organization that attracts global scientific and medical leaders for
discussion and presentation of cutting edge technology and therapeutic
advances.
Dr. Mann is the Head of the Division of Immunogenetics at the University
of Maryland and a member of the Company's Scientific Advisory Board. He is
the former Head of Immunogenetics at the National Cancer Institute where he
served for more than 25 years. His work is published in over 220 scientific
manuscripts and he is a recognized leader in the field of viral immunology and
its relationship to cancer.
The reported mechanism findings with ProstaRex(TM) are consistent with the
Company's clinical and in vitro studies of its lead product OvaRex(R) MAb for
ovarian cancer and its second product, BrevaRex(R) MAb for multiple myeloma.
OvaRex(R) MAb targets the antigen CA 125 and BrevaRex(R) MAb targets a soluble
form of the MUC1 antigen. All three of these antibodies have now been shown
to activate immune responses, particularly T cell activation, against their
targeted cancer antigens.
A challenge for cancer immunotherapy is the difficulty in obtaining broad
cellular immune responses, including T helper cells and CTLs. T help enables
the CTLs to recognize the target antigen and effect killing. The majority of
cancer vaccines, however, only produce a T help response without the required
cytotoxic T cell response. The novel finding reported here is that AltaRex's
antibody approach produces both T helper cells and CTLs, permitting generation
of a robust immunity.
Similar to the ProstaRex(TM) findings featured today, demonstration via
the dendritic cell assay of a broad T cell response elicited by the Company's
OvaRex(R) and BrevaRex(R) MAbs will be presented at the American Association
for Cancer Research (AACR), being held March 24 - 28 in New Orleans.
Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among American men, excluding
skin cancers. One out of every 5 men will develop prostate cancer at some
point during his life. According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated
180,400 new cases will be diagnosed in 2000 and 31,900 men will die from the
disease each year. Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer
death in men after lung cancer, accounting for 14% of male cancer-related
deaths. Surgical and radiotherapeutic interventions are effective treatment
for localized disease; however, micrometastases are not eliminated by these
measures. Standard chemotherapy and/or hormonal treatment is not always
successful in eradicating residual tumor cells. In other malignancies,
immune-based therapies have achieved some degree of success in cancers that
have not responded to conventional treatment and are now also being
investigated as an adjunct treatment modality in prostate cancer.
Dendritic Cell Assay
Dendritic cells are postulated to be the body's most efficient antigen
presenting cells, having an ability to induce high levels of T cell
activation. They process and present "invaders" to the immune system, which
should trigger an immune system attack, preferably a T cell attack, on these
invaders. The dendritic cell assay used to generate the ProstaRex(TM) study
results has been co-developed by AltaRex and Dr. Mann to test which
antibody/antigen combinations are best able to induce T cell immunity.
AltaRex Corp. is focused on the research, development and
commercialization of antigen-targeted monoclonal antibodies for the treatment
of certain late-stage cancers. OvaRex(R) MAb targets the tumor associated
antigen CA 125 and is in the final stages of clinical evaluation for ovarian
cancer with commercialization expected in the United States, assuming timely
regulatory approval, in 2002. Clinical data reported to date evidence a
prolongation in time to relapse and/or survival in the treatment of ovarian
cancer, without the toxicities seen with chemotherapy. BrevaRex(R) MAb
targets the tumor associated antigen MUC1 and has successfully completed a
Phase I safety and immunology study. The Company plans to initiate a Phase
I/II clinical study of BrevaRex(R) MAb for the treatment of multiple myeloma
this year. ProstaRex(TM) MAb targets the tumor associated antigen PSA and has
successfully demonstrated robust immune responses in preclinical study.
Additional information about AltaRex research and development, news and
events can be found on its web site at http://www.altarex.com . Clinical information
can also be found at http://www.centerwatch.com . Additional information about
ovarian cancer can be found at http://www.nci.nih.gov , http://www.ovariancanada.org and at
http://www.ovarian.org .
This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks
and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially from
the statements made. For this purpose, any statements that are contained
herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be
forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words
"believes," "anticipates," "plans," "intends," "expects" and similar
expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such risks
and uncertainties include, but are not limited to our need for capital and the
risk that the Company can not raise funds on a timely basis on satisfactory
terms or at all, changing market conditions, completion of clinical trials,
patient enrollment rates, uncertainty of preclinical, retrospective and early
clinical trial results, which may not be indicative of results that will be
obtained in ongoing or future clinical trials, the establishment of
manufacturing processes and new corporate alliances, the timely development,
regulatory approval and market acceptance of the Company's products,
uncertainty as to whether patents will issue from pending patent applications
and, if issued, as to whether such patents will be sufficiently broad to
protect the Company's technology, and other risks detailed from time-to-time
in the Company's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission and Canadian securities authorities.
The Toronto Stock Exchange has not approved or disapproved of the
information contained herein.
SOURCE AltaRex Corp.
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Related links:
http://www.altarex.com
http://www.centerwatch.com http://www.nci.nih.gov
http://www.ovariancanada.org http://www.ovarian.org
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AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
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Company News On-Call:
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800-758-5804, ext. 128163
CONTACT:
Sondra Henrichon, Director, Investor
Relations and Corporate Communications of AltaRex Corp.,
781-672-0138, ext. 1510, or shenrichon@altarex.com; or Wayne
Hendry, Investor Relations of The Equicom Group, 416-815-0700,
ext. 238, or whendry@equicomgroup.com, for Altarex
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