A Norway-based pharmaceutical company’s cancer-fighting vaccine has been granted orphan drug designation for a study of its use in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. The vaccine, UV1, was created by Ultimovacs. Its goal is to generate an immune response that targets an enzyme called telomerase that causes cancerous cells to proliferate.
Vaccine to Induce Immune Response Against Mesothelioma Cells’ Spread
The idea of using a vaccine against deadly diseases like malignant pleural mesothelioma has long been a goal for cancer researchers. Vaccines work by introducing antigens to the body that imitate the disease to be eliminated, training the body to respond against it. The UV1 antibody represents a combination of three synthetic versions of the telomerase that studies have shown are recognized by the immune system.
Malignant mesothelioma is not the only form of cancer that Ultimovacs is being tested against. A multi-center Phase II program is currently testing it against five different cancers, but the granting of the orphan drug designation was based on a clinical trial sponsored by Oslo University Hospital that is being conducted in several European countries, as well as in Australia.
Orphan Drug Designation Reserved for Rare Illnesses Like Malignant Mesothelioma
The FDA grants a special orphan drug designation to treatments created for the treatment of extremely rare illnesses like malignant mesothelioma in recognition of the fact that drug manufacturers have little financial incentive to create treatments for diseases that affect so few people. It provides drug manufacturers with an incentive to continue conducting research.
UV1’s mesothelioma study involves giving the vaccine to patients in combination with Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Opdivo (nivolumab) and Yervoy (ipilimumab) as a second-line treatment after the traditional platinum chemotherapy treatment used to treat the disease has failed. The study that generated the orphan drug designation began enrolling patients in June 2020 and closed in January 2023, and though it did not reach its primary endpoint, it did demonstrate a favorable trend in overall survival.
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net can help you access valuable resources. Contact us today at 1-800-692-8608.
