On June 27, 2022-Defence Therapeutics Inc. ("Defence" or the "Company"), a Canadian biopharmaceutical company specialized in the development of immuneoncology vaccines and drug delivery technologies, is pleased to reported potent pre-clinical results on the use of its AccumTM-linked protein vaccine, AccuVAC-PT007, against cervical cancer (Press release, Defence Therapeutics, JUN 27, 2022, View Source [SID1234626250]).
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Cervical cancer is a type of cancer affecting the cervix. Various strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection, play a major role in causing cervical cancer. When exposed to HPV, epithelial cells of the cervix undergo a series of transformation events eventually leading to tumor development. Although the risk of developing cervical cancer can be significantly reduced by performing regular screening tests, receiving anti-HPV vaccines such as Gardasil, Gardasil-9 or Cervarix, remain currently the most effective strategy to prevent from cervical cancer caused by HPV 16 and 18. However, there is currently no cure besides standard of care for patients who develop cervical cancer, and the clinical trials conducted with other companies with both the E6 and E7 oncoproteins (derived from the HPV genome) were highly unsuccessful.
Using the AccumTM platform, Defence developed the AccuVAC-PT007, a protein-based vaccine targeting the E7 oncoprotein of the HPV virus. AccuVAC-PT007 was previously shown to provide complete protection against cervical cancer (prophylactic vaccination) as shown in our press release dated on May 18, 2022. These ground-breaking observations led to the testing of AccuVAC-PT007 as a treatment with pre-established cervical cancer (therapeutic vaccination). Pre-clinical studies conducted on rodents show that the co-delivery of AccuVAC-PT007 with several immune-checkpoint blockers (anti-PD-1, anti-CTLA4 or anti-CD47) lead to potent control of tumor growth with a more pronounced effect observed with anti-CD47, one of the latest immune-checkpoint blockers undergoing clinical development.
"Currently available HPV vaccines serve one purpose: protection from the HPV virus. Our vaccine is not only simpler to manufacture as it is based on a single protein, but its dual action makes it highly attractive as it can both protect from-and treat the same tumor type", says Mr. Sebastien Plouffe, the CEO of Defence Therapeutics.
Specifically, the cervical cancer therapeutics market size is expected to reach $7.1 billion by 2027 according to Aritzon Advisory and Intelligence. And further more since the cervical cancer is derived form HPV "human papillomavirus vaccine", this market is anticipated to generate a revenue of $10,823 million and grow at a healthy CAGR of 12.4% over the forecast period from 2022 to 2030 according to Research Dive.