In a blog entry at the beginning of the month (http://jgcaesarea.blogspot.co.il/2012/06/new-york-times-new-class-of-cancer.html), I observed "that in addition to the development of antibody drug conjugates, another 'hot' mechanism for mAb therapy involves blocking the inhibition of the immune system induced by the cancerous cells, i.e. ridding cancer cells of their cloak of invisibility and allowing the body's natural immune system to attack these intruders."
A Wall Street Journal article, entitled "New Cancer Drugs Use Body's Own Defenses" (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304821304577440740468261400.html?mod=djemalertNEWS), written by Ron Winslow, also expressed similar optimism pertaining to immunotherapies:
"Medical science efforts to harness the power of the immune system against cancer are beginning to bear fruit after decades of frustration, opening up a hopeful new front in the long battle against the disease.
. . . .
The immune system's ability to fight off the body's invaders has long been recognized against infectious disease. But cancer has largely escaped its reach and for decades fended off researchers' efforts to find a weakness. It turns out cancer shields itself by essentially putting the brakes on the human immune system.
Recent discoveries have led to advances in how to unleash the immune system, though one challenge has been to jump-start the body's defenses without injury to healthy, normal cells."
However, in order to "unleash" the body's immune system, appropriate targets residing on the surface of cancer cells must be identified, and this is no simple task.
Today, Compugen, which created a monoclonal antibody target discovery platform, issued a press release, announcing "results demonstrating the therapeutic potential of CGEN-15022, a Compugen-discovered B7/CD28-like membrane protein, as an immune checkpoint target for treatment of multiple cancers," including liver, colorectal, lung and ovarian cancers. As explained in the press release:
"Immune checkpoints are inhibitory receptors and their ligands, which are crucial for the maintenance of self-tolerance (that is, the prevention of autoimmunity) and for the protection of tissues from damage when the immune system is responding to pathogenic infection. These immune checkpoints which are 'highjacked' by tumors to block the ability of the immune system to destroy the tumor ('immune resistance'), have lately emerged as 'game changers' and promising targets for cancer immunotherapy. Therapeutic blockade of immune checkpoints stimulates the patient’s immune system in order to provide durable anti-tumor immunity and tumor destruction. The blockade of immune checkpoints unleashes the potential of the anti-tumor immune response in a fashion that is transforming cancer therapeutics. Such antibodies have lately demonstrated impressive clinical benefit and long-term survival, even for end-stage patients, raising hopes that this novel approach will deliver substantial progress in the fight against cancer."
Previously, Compugen announced that CGEN-15001T, another B7/CD28-like membrane protein predicted and discovered by the company, demonstrated immunotherapeutic potential for prostate cancer, melanoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma, and Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, such as T and B cell lymphomas.
Although it could be years before these targets give rise to marketed monoclonal antibody therapeutics, following human clinical trials and FDA approval, immunotherapies are indeed a source of hope for the future treatment of cancers that have until now proven intractable.
[As noted in prior blog entries, I am a Compugen shareholder, this blog entry is not a recommendation to buy or sell Compugen shares, and in September 2009 I began work as a part-time external consultant to Compugen. The opinions expressed herein are mine and are based on publicly available information. This blog entry has not been authorized, approved or reviewed prior to posting by Compugen.]
It is encouraging to see such wonderful work being done.
ReplyDeleteThanks, John. Compugen is a source of inspiration and satisfaction for me: There is still "good" in the world. As I often say, I take great pleasure in visiting the company, meeting with their scientists, and realizing that I am the stupidest person in the room!
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