ENKASTIM-iv - A Therapeutic Cancer Vaccine

Product class	Synthetic peptide (14mer) / cancer vaccine
Target	Hsp70-expressing tumor cells/metastases
Indications	Various cancers
Technology	Tumor-specific in vivo activation of NK cells
Status	Proof of therapeutic efficacy in a colorectal tumor mouse model

Product Description

ENKASTIM-iv is a novel targeted cancer immunotherapy that has potential application in most tumor types. The product induces an immune response against surface-bound heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70). Surface-bound Hsp70 is a tumor-specific marker expressed on about 50-75% of various cancer entities, e.g. lung, colon, breast, pancreas. In vivo application of ENKASTIM-iv, an Hsp70-based GMP-grade synthetic peptide comprising 14 amino acids (14mer), results in a specific activation of Natural Killer (NK) cells with targeting and killing ability towards Hsp70-positive tumors and metastases.

Indication

All tumors and metastases on which surface-bound Hsp70 is present. Preclinical development in colorectal cancer is ongoing, and further studies in pancreatic and lung cancer are planned.

Market

Cancer vaccines are estimated to become a major player in the vaccine market, with revenues rising from its current level of $135 million to more than $8 billion by 2012 (Kalorama, 2007). In principal, ENKASTIM-iv could be used to treat a wide range of cancers and as a consequence it could therefore command a substantial market.

Status

Proof of principle has been demonstrated in a pre-clinical mouse colon tumor model. In these studies, three repeated intravenous injections of ENKASTIM (TKD/IL-2) resulted in a 60% reduction in the tumor size.