On August 16, 2021 Immunicom, Inc., a clinical stage biotech pioneering non-pharmaceutical immunotherapies, reported that progresses with its cancer clinical trial to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of Immunopheresis in partnership with Acibadem University conducted in Acibadem Healthcare Group hospitals (Press release, Immunicom, AUG 16, 2021, View Source [SID1234586653]). This multi-arm study has been recruiting patients since October 2020 and evaluates Immunicom’s oncology platform for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in combination with Roche’s pharmaceutical checkpoint inhibitor, Tecentriq (atezolizumab). This is Immunicom’s third clinical trial assessing Immunopheresis for solid cancers.
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The Immunopheresis therapy employs Immunicom’s lead product, the proprietary LW-02 subtractive column, to remove targeted immune-suppressive cytokines that block the natural immune response to attack malignant tumors. Immunopheresis is intended to treat cancer while avoiding the typical side-effects, toxicity, and negative impacts on quality of life that are frequently associated with other cancer treatments.
Immunicom’s LW-02 column has received U.S. FDA Breakthrough Device designation for stage IV metastatic cancer and has received European regulatory clearance (CE Mark certification) for use in adults with advanced, refractory, triple negative breast cancer (TNBC).
"Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world and the most prevalent cancer in Turkey. Currently available therapies for lung cancer are commonly associated with serious side-effects and often patient’s tumors become resistant to even the newer immunotherapies. Moreover, the presently available immunotherapies are prohibitively expensive which precludes this option for many patients," said Ahmet Şahin, MD., Prof., Chairman of the Medical Executive Board of Acibadem Healthcare Group. "We are highly optimistic that Immunicom’s Immunopheresis therapy will provide physicians with a novel breakthrough cancer immunotherapy that should be markedly better tolerated, improve patient’s quality of life, and its cost-effectiveness will make it widely available to many patients who might otherwise not be able to benefit from an immunotherapy."
The multicenter, multi-arm clinical study led by Gökhan Demir, MD, Prof., Acibadem University School of Medicine, Department of Internal Diseases Medical Oncology who serves as the Principal Investigator, and conducted by Mustafa Bozkurt, MD tests the clinical effectiveness of the LW-02 Immunopheresis column to treat stage IIIB/IV non-small cell lung cancer patients whose disease has progressed after at least one first-line chemotherapy round of treatment. The clinical study is divided into three treatment arms, each with the LW-02 column; the first in combination with Tecentriq (atezolizumab), the second in combination with Taxol (paclitaxel), and the third with Immunopheresis as a monotherapy for patients who have disease progression after a second-line of chemotherapy treatment.
"With this clinical trial, Immunicom and Acibadem are centered on demonstrating the effectiveness of Immunicom’s Immunopheresis therapy for treating patients facing a highly aggressive form of non-small cell lung cancer. This important study assesses Immunopheresis in combination with both Roche’s Tecentriq, one of the world’s leading PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy drugs, and with paclitaxel, a very commonly used chemotherapy agent," said Amir Jafri, Founder and CEO of Immunicom, Inc.
"We have developed Immunopheresis intending that it could be used with many different oncology regimens and the growing array of promising immunotherapy drugs, while keeping in the forefront our mission of preserving patients’ quality of life to ensure that they can fight cancer in a compassionate and dignified way. We are confident that our breakthrough Immunopheresis technology will provide patients the benefits associated with upregulation of their immune system to attack resistant cancers. Immunicom’s motto of ‘Healing Reimagined,’ reflects our mission to improve quality-of-life for all patients in a meaningful way and expedite their path to a healthy recovery," continued Mr. Jafri.
For an overview of how this breakthrough technology works, visit View Source Immunopheresis is an investigational therapy that has not yet been approved for use by the FDA.