(By Balaseshan) CEL-SCI Corp. (NYSEAMEX: CVM) said it has received key patent from the Japanese patent office for its investigational phase 3 cancer therapy, Multikine (Leukocyte Interleukin, Injection).
The patent, Japanese patent number 5,122,279, is titled, "A Method of Pre-Sensitizing Cancer Prior to Treatment with Radiation and/or Chemotherapy and a Novel Cytokine Mixture". Key patents on Multikine have now been issued in the largest pharmaceutical markets in the world: the United States, European Union, China and Japan.
Multikine, an investigational immunotherapeutic agent consisting of a mixture of naturally occurring cytokines, including interleukins, interferons, chemokines and colony-stimulating factors, is currently being developed for treatment of head and neck cancer.
This invention relates to a novel effect of Multikine observed during clinical trials that CEL-SCI believes indicates it has the potential to pre-sensitize cancer cells to a therapeutic treatment such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy or immunotherapy.
Phase 1 and 2 clinical studies with Multikine demonstrated that Multikine induced cancerous cells to enter into the cell cycle phase, and thereby possibly increased their vulnerability to chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Further research is required and currently underway in CEL-SCI's Phase 3 clinical trial in an effort to confirm the observed potential synergies of Multikine.
In CEL-SCI's ongoing Phase 3 global trial, advanced primary (not yet treated) head and neck cancer subjects randomized to Multikine treatment are administered Multikine ahead of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, in the same way as it was given during CEL-SCI's Phase 1 and 2 trials.
A recent interim review of the safety data from the Phase 3 trial by an Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC) raised no safety concerns. The IDMC also indicated that no safety signals were found that would call into question the benefit/risk of continuing the study.
CEL-SCI considers the results of the IDMC review important since the findings from this interim review were similar to those reported by investigators during CEL-SCI's Phase 1-2 trials in which the potential synergistic effects of Multikine on radiotherapy and chemotherapy were observed.
CVM is trading up 5.32% at $0.358 on Wednesday. The stock has been trading between $0.27 and $0.65 for the past 52 weeks.