SAN DIEGO, May 14 (UPI) -- U.S. biotech firm Ichor Medical said Monday it is cleared to begin a phase 1 study of a DNA-based vaccine for melanoma.
The vaccine -- developed by New York-based Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center -- consists of DNA that encodes a tyrosinase protein, which is found in abundance in melanoma cells and appears to be a "promising target for immunotherapy," Ichor said.
MSKCC has began recruiting patients with stage 2b to stage 4 malignant melanoma for the two-year study.
The experimental vaccine incorporates the company's proprietary delivery system, TriGrid, which helps transport the DNA vaccine to the targeted cells.
TriGrid uses a technology called electroporation, which Ichor said has been shown in studies to increase uptake of therapeutic agents from ten-fold to one thousand-fold, compared to other delivery methods.
"We are seeing the emergence of immunotherapy as an important component of cancer treatment ...," said Alan Houghton, head of the melanoma disease management team at MSKCC. "DNA cancer vaccines offer a new approach to immunotherapy, but we need to improve the efficiency of vaccine delivery. We are hopeful that Ichor's TriGrid will help fulfill that potential."
