mRNA-Cancer vaccine
After the amazing success of the COVID-19 vaccine based on matrix RNA, the German company BioNTech started developing cancer vaccines. A phase 2 clinical trial of the BNT111 vaccine against advanced melanoma has recently started. The researchers hope that the vaccine will help patients fight the tumor and prevent relapses.
After the pandemic, BioNTech was preparing phases 2 and 3 of clinical trials of the BNT111 anti-cancer mRNA vaccine, but the project had to be stopped for a while in order to focus all efforts on creating a vaccine against COVID-19. Finally, it's time to get back to your original goal.
The BNT111 vaccine will be tested in combination with Libtayo (a monoclonal antibody to the programmed cell death protein PD-1) in patients with recurrent stage III and IV melanoma. The vaccine targets four tumor antigens. It is believed that more than 90% of all melanomas contain at least one of these four antigens.
Phase 2 of the study involved 120 patients from Spain, Germany, Italy, Poland, the USA, Great Britain and Australia. The first patient has already received experimental treatment.
The company's management notes that the BNT111 vaccine has already proven safety and demonstrated positive results in phase 1 of the study, when the effectiveness of the vaccine was evaluated in a subgroup of 42 patients who received the vaccine either in isolation (25 people) or together with libtayo (17 people). Of the 25 participants who received only the vaccine, one patient had complete remission, three had partial remission, and seven had stabilization of the disease. There were six cases of partial remission in the combination therapy group.
According to the authors, preventing cancer recurrence is an "ideal goal" for mRNA technology, because after most or all of the tumor is surgically removed, the vaccine enhances the production of T cells that will not allow cancer cells to grow.
The capabilities of mRNA vaccines are not limited to this, the technology allows the production of personalized vaccines. BioNTech researchers report that they will be able to create an individual vaccine for a patient within 45 days after surgery. To do this, a biopsy is performed, then a computer algorithm analyzes mutations caused by cancer in search of those that trigger the production of T cells. But the company plans to create ready-to-use medicines, which is especially important for people who cannot wait 45 days.
Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of ZME Science: The world’s first mRNA vaccine against cancer is now being trialed.