FREDERICK, Md., Oct. 11, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vaccinogen, Inc. (OTC:VGEN) a pioneer in cancer immunotherapy, today announced that its cofounder, Chairman, and CEO Michael G. Hanna, Jr., Ph.D., will deliver a keynote address on the impact of genomic sequencing data in cancer immunotherapy at the 2nd International Conference on Clinical & Cellular Immunology (the Immunology Summit-2013) on October 15, 2013. The conference runs from October 15 to 17 in Las Vegas.
Dr. Hanna will also serve as the Chair for the session titled, "Vaccines in Immunology: New Insights and Development," and will discuss Vaccinogen's lead product, the OncoVax ® technology platform.
"At the cellular level, it is clear that cancer is a genetically diverse disease arising as mutant clones that expand and grow in an unregulated manner. While it has always been presumed that cancer is a consequence of cellular mutations, recent advances in DNA sequencing technology have elucidated the magnitude and diversity of these mutations," Dr. Hanna said. "Immunotherapy is the premier biological approach to patient-specific targeted therapy. Earlier immunotherapeutic approaches using therapeutic vaccines to eliminate cancer were launched with the assumption that cancer cells were homogeneous. The recent genomic understanding of tumor cells indicates that there is heterogeneity within and among malignant tumors that requires a significantly different approach to therapy."
Vaccinogen believes that OncoVAX is the first cancer vaccine that can both prevent cancer recurrence and embrace the diversity of cancer cells. The company is currently preparing for a pivotal Phase IIIb clinical trial of the therapeutic vaccine. This treatment is designed to use a patient's own cancer cells to mobilize the body's immune system to prevent the return of colon cancer following surgery. A previously completed Phase III trial published in The Lancet showed that OncoVAX cuts the risk of recurrence by 61% in patients with Stage II colon cancer. OncoVAX is comprised of sterile, live and metabolically active tumor cells dissociated from the surgically resected colon tumor.
The Immunology Summit-2013 is expected to be attended by scientists, immunologists, and cancer specialists from academia, research and industry and is comprised of 17 separate tracks covering topics in basic molecular and cellular immunology as well as clinical immunology. Within these tracks, cytokine and inflammation research, autoimmunity and the major disease states, cancer, infection and immunodeficiency syndromes, reproductive immunology, and transplantations will be discussed.
About Vaccinogen, Inc.
Vaccinogen, Inc. is a cancer vaccine company that is clinically testing its OncoVAX® treatment which is designed to prevent the recurrence of colon cancer and potentially other solid tumors. It is a patented process that circumvents the extreme diversity of tumor cells by leveraging a patient's own live tumor cells to launch a broad immune response against colon cancer. The Company believes that OncoVAX, at an optimum dose and regimen, is the first colon cancer vaccine to demonstrate effectiveness in both preventing cancer recurrence after surgical resection of the primary tumor and addressing the diversity of cancer cells. OncoVAX has completed five clinical studies, including a Phase III trial with the optimum dose and regimen. The Company expects to begin a pivotal Phase IIIb trial under an FDA Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) classification in the fourth quarter of 2013. More information is available at www.vaccinogeninc.com .
For further information contact: David Carey/Tanner Kaufman Lazar Partners Ltd. 212 867 1762
