The United States Food and Drug Administration has granted orphan drug designation to a new pleural mesothelioma treatment called MVdeltaC. Orphan drug designation is a special category of approval for treatments targeting rare diseases. It both speeds up the development process and offers financial incentives to encourage researchers to continue their work on therapies that aren’t likely to have the kind of broad appeal that leads to profits.
New Mesothelioma Treatment Relies On Measles Virus
According to its developer, Oncovita, MVdeltaC uses a modified version of the measles virus that’s been modified to replicate within tumor cells, including pleural mesothelioma cells, and then induce cellular death. The virus can only survive and multiply inside cancer cells, and once it has penetrated them, it multiplies, induces cell death. Notably, it also reactivates the body’s response within so-called “cold tumors” that have previously become invisible to the immune system. MVdeltaC essentially awakens the immune system to start attacking the cancer.
The virus targets cancer cells by latching onto a protein called CD46, which is expressed at higher levels in mesothelioma and other cancer cells than in normal cells. This makes the treatment highly selective for cancer tissue. Early laboratory studies delivered positive results, with the drug effective against the rare asbestos-related disease as well as lung cancer and bladder, ovarian, and cervical cancers.
Modified Measles Vaccine Delivers Impressive Results in Mesothelioma Cell Lines
The mesothelioma world became aware of the vaccine in October 2023, when Oncovita presented at the International Society for Vaccines Annual Congress and reported on a 60% to 70% reduction in human mesothelioma tumor mass two weeks after lab animals were injected with MVdeltaC. Since then, the vaccine has been tested on over 127 different human cancer cell lines; more than 70% were sensitive to the treatment.
Importantly, the modified virus was 2-3 times more effective at destroying mesothelioma cancer cells compared to regular measles virus, activating key immune cells that help the body remember and continue fighting the cancer even after treatment. When the treatment was combined with an anti-CTLA-4 antibody immune-boosting drug, it achieved a 100% survival rate in mice infected with mesothelioma.
Speaking of the importance of receiving orphan drug designation, Oncovita’s chief executive officer, Stephane Altaba, said, “This regulatory support strengthens our strategy to advance innovative immunotherapies as we prepare to enter clinical development with MVdeltaC by 2026.”
This research is just one of several exciting recent developments in treating mesothelioma. For information on this and other resources, contact the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net today at 1-800-692-8608.
