BERKELEY, CA and VANCOUVER, BC–(Marketwired – December 05, 2016) – BriaCell Therapeutics Corp. (“BriaCell” or the “Company”) (TSX VENTURE: BCT) (OTCQB: BCTXF), a clinical-stage company dedicated to the development of immuno-oncology treatments, today announced that the Company will present the latest development update for BriaVax™, the Company’s proprietary vaccine for advanced breast cancer, at the 39th Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in San Antonio, Texas. Additionally, the Company signed a service agreement contract with the Terasaki Foundation Laboratory, a leading non-profit research institution in the area of organ transplantation and immunology, based in Los Angeles.
BriaVax™ is a genetically engineered whole-cell vaccine derived from a human breast tumor cell line. It is believed to activate the immune system to recognize and eliminate cancerous cells by potentially inducing tumor directed T cell and antibody responses. BriaVax™ is entering an open-label Phase I/IIa clinical trial designed to evaluate its safety and activity in patients with metastatic breast cancer. BriaCell is planning to launch an open-label Phase I/IIa clinical trial to evaluate the safety and activity of BriaVax™ in patients with metastatic breast cancer in the first quarter of 2017.
Dr. Charles Wiseman, BriaCell Founder and Director of the Board, will present the latest development update for BriaVax™, the Company’s proprietary vaccine for advanced breast cancer. Details of BriaCell’s poster presentation are as follows:
Title: A phase I/IIa study of the whole-cell vaccine BriaVax™ in metastatic or locally recurrent breast cancer patients (NCT00095862), Wiseman CL, Lacher M. BriaCell Therapeutics, Berkeley, CA.
Event: The San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 2016
Date: Friday, December 9, 2016
Time: 5:00-7:00 PM Central Time
Location: Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, 900 E. Market Street, Hall 1, San Antonio, TX 78205 USA
Terasaki Foundation Laboratory Collaboration
“BriaCell has made significant strides to advance its companion diagnostic platform, BriaDx™, which is designed to provide a method of selecting patients most likely to respond to BriaVax™”, commented Dr. Williams, BriaCell’s President & CEO. “We are excited to work with leading experts of human immunology and HLA testing. We are planning to use HLA testing to learn more about BriaVax’s mechanism of action, and to identify the top responding subset of patients”.
BriaCell has initiated a service contract agreement with the Terasaki Foundation Laboratory (“TFL”), a Los Angeles-based non-profit research institution known for its expertise in organ transplantation, immunology and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) biology. The Company’s recent analyses of HLA alleles of previously-treated subjects suggest a connection to the mechanism of action of Briavax™. BriaCell intends to work with the experts at TFL to study this possible connection in patients entering the Company’s planned Phase I/IIa clinical trial.
About BriaCell
BriaCell is an immuno-oncology biotechnology company developing a more targeted and potentially less toxic approach to cancer management compared to traditional chemotherapy strategies. BriaCell’s mission is to serve late-stage cancer patients with limited treatment options.
Immunotherapy has come to the forefront of the fight against cancer, harnessing the body’s own immune system to recognize and selectively destroy cancer cells while sparing normal cells. Immunotherapy, in addition to generally being more targeted than commonly used types of chemotherapy, is also thought to be a highly potent approach aimed at preventing cancer recurrence.
BriaVax™, the Company’s lead product candidate, is a genetically engineered whole-cell vaccine derived from a human breast tumor cell line. It is believed to activate the immune system to recognize and eliminate cancerous cells by inducing tumor-directed T cell and potentially antibody responses. The Company has already demonstrated encouraging clinical results, and is intent on building upon these results to further advance BriaVax™ through additional FDA-approved clinical trials in order to help cancer patients with limited therapeutic options. The results of two previous Phase I clinical trials (one with the precursor cell line not genetically engineered to produce GM-CSF and one with BriaVax™) have been encouraging in patients with advanced solid tumors. Most notably, one patient with metastatic breast cancer responded to BriaVax™ with substantial reduction in tumor burden including lung and brain metastases.
For more information on the previous clinical trials, please visit http://briacell.com/noveltechnology/clinical-trials/, and on BriaCell per se, http://briacell.com.
About Terasaki Foundation Laboratory
The Terasaki Foundation Laboratory (TFL) has a strong commitment to organ transplantation, immunology and study of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) biology. The TFL, in collaboration with leading physicians, scientists, and biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and medical device companies, works to solve the major problems limiting the success of organ transplantation. These efforts will build a better understanding of human immunology and the transplant patient. This will be accomplished by innovating and studying the immune system, HLA molecules, and the transplant patient in ways not done before. Research at the TFL will supply the transplant and immunology community with a new understanding of how to achieve success in transplantation and possibly other diseases.
The ability of the TFL to collaborate with the entire transplant and immunology community is a major strength. As an independent non-profit research institute, the TFL performs research with medical centers worldwide, serves as a core lab on research grants, is a member of transplant research consortia. The TFL has research partnerships with many companies that develop new medications and technologies in transplantation, immunology and HLA biology.
For further information on Terasaki Foundation Laboratory, please see www.terasaki.org.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information
Except for the statements of historical fact, this news release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation which involves known and unknown risks relevant to the Company in particular and to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries in general, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual events to differ materially from current expectation. These risks are more fully described in the Company’s public filings available at www.sedar.com.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation, except to the extent required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
The TSX Venture Exchange Inc. has in no way passed upon the merits of the Company and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
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Contact Information
For further information contact:
BriaCell Therapeutics Corp.
820 Heinz Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94710
Ms. Farrah Dean
Manager, Corporate Development
Phone: 1-888-485-6340
Email: [email protected]
