ImClone unveils melanoma vaccine

ImClone Pharmaceuticals has reported preclinical data on a new vaccineagainst melanoma based on recombinant hTRPx3 protein. The chimeric vaccine consists of three human melanoma proteins - TRP-1, TRP-2 and tyrosinase - and preclinical studies have shown that it can elicit both antibody and cellular immune responses in mice. Moreover, when immunized mice were subsequently challenged with injected melanoma cells, suppression of lung metastases was significantly enhanced in vaccinated mice compared to controls. Meantime, ImClone has presented additional preclinical data revealing that the epidermal growth factor receptor, the target of its lead cancer therapeutic IMC-225, is expressed at high frequency in colorectal carcinoma, providing additional support for its Phase II program for the drug in this indication.