Onyvax initates Ph IIb UK cancer vacc trial

London, UK-based biotechnology firm Onyvax says that a Phase IIb clinical trial with Onyvax-P, designed to stimulate the immune system to fight prostate cancer, is underway with the addition of UK clinical centers and adoption by the UK's National Cancer Research Network, following the commencement of the trial in the Baltic States where the first patients have been treated.

According to Onyvax, the trial is the first industry-sponsored protocol to be adopted by the NCRN since the launch of the National Health Service research strategy - Best Research for Best Health - which includes enhancing the environment for contract and collaborative research with industry as an explicit aim.

The NCRN was established to accelerate patient recruitment into clinical trials and improve the integration of research into clinical practice. The Onyvax trial is evaluating a total of 75 patients across Europe who have non-metastatic, hormone resistant prostate cancer, with 50 subjects receiving active therapy and 25 on placebo, with the aim of maintaining a strong anti-cancer immune response throughout the treatment period. The primary endpoint is progression-free survival at 12 months and the firm expects to receive prostate-specific antigen velocity data and progression-free survival data, six and 12 months after the last patient is enrolled, respectively.