Cell Medica secures further Wellcome Trust funding for completion of the CMV~IMPACT study.
Published: Sept. 23, 2011, midnight in Press releasesFurther funding from the Wellcome Trust for Cell Medica's randomised controlled study to investigate the use of Cytovir CMV
London, UK, September 2011: Cell Medica has received further funding from the Wellcome Trust for its randomised controlled study to investigate the use of Cytovir CMV in combination with conventional antiviral drug therapy for the reduction of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in patients following allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell (bone marrow) transplantation (the CMV~IMPACT Study).
The Wellcome Trust has supported both the product development and the clinical research leading to the launch of the CMV~IMPACT Study in 2008. The trial is focussing on patients receiving a transplant from a sibling donor. The number of participating centres now includes 14 of the largest bone marrow transplantation sites across the UK to ensure achievement of patient recruitment targets. Independent assessment of data for safety considerations has to date confirmed no expected or unexpected serious adverse events associated with the cell therapy. An interim review has shown the original statistical assumptions in the design of the study are also consistent with the results to date. The study is on track for last patient recruitment at the end of 2012.
Gregg Sando, CEO of Cell Medica, commented:
“The CMV IMPACT study represents the first randomised cell therapy investigating how a cell therapy approach can potentially improve upon currently available drugs for the treatment of CMV infections in patients following bone marrow transplantation. In addition, through supplying 14 participating centres across the UK, Cell Medica is demonstrating how the manufacturing and logistics of a patient-specific cell therapy can be managed with 100% reliability as shown to date. We are really pleased that the Wellcome Trust continues to support the trial – the results of which will represent a significant milestone in realising the potential of cellular therapies to treat human diseases.”
Notes to Editors:
Background
The CMV~IMPACT (ImmunoProphylactic Adoptive Cellular Therapy) Study is funded through a Translation Award by the Wellcome Trust. The Principal Investigator is Dr Karl Peggs, Senior Lecturer and Consultant in Stem Cell Transplantation and Immunotherapy at UCL Cancer Institute.
Cell Medica is also sponsoring a clinical study to investigate the use of Cytovir-CMV to prevent and treat CMV infection following bone marrow transplantation from unrelated donors referred to as the CMV~ACE/ASPECT Study. The unrelated donor trial is funded, in part, by a grant to the University of Birmingham from Leukaemia Lymphoma Research.
About T cell immunotherapy for the treatment of cytomegalovirus infection
T cell immunotherapy involves harnessing the power and precision of the human immune system to treat disease. Extensive academic research in the field of clinical immunology has shown that human T cells have the ability to recognise and eliminate viral infections and cell therapies comprised of T cells can be used in a safe and efficacious manner as an antiviral treatment. While CMV rarely causes serious infections in healthy adult individuals, this virus causes a significant level of sickness and sometimes death in patients who are profoundly immunosuppressed following bone marrow transplantation. Adoptive T cell immunotherapy is based on the infusion of CMV-specific memory T cells recovered from the original bone marrow donor to provide protective immunity against the virus in the patient.
About The Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health. It supports the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities. The Trust’s breadth of support includes public engagement, education and the application of research to improve health. It is independent of both political and commercial interests. www.wellcome.ac.uk
About Cell Medica
Cell Medica is a clinical stage cellular therapeutics company engaged in the development, manufacture and marketing of cellular immunotherapy treatments for infectious disease and cancer. The Cytovir cell therapies target the prevention of viral infections in immunosuppressed patients following allogeneic bone marrow transplant. The Company’s lead product, Cytovir CMV, targets cytomegalovirus infections and is the company’s lead product. A second cell therapy, Cytovir ADV for the treatment of life-threatening adenovirus infections in children, is soon to enter clinical trial.
The Cytorex cell therapies target cancers associated with oncogenic pathogens which in total account for over 18% of all human malignancies. The Company’s lead cancer immunotherapy is for the treatment of lymphoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma and gastric cancer associated with the Epstein Barr virus (EBV). A prototype of this cell therapy is currently being tested in an investigator-led clinical trial at Baylor College of Medicine (Houston, Texas) and Cell Medica is preparing a company-sponsored trial to advance this cancer therapy towards regulatory approval.
For further information please contact:
Tina Crombie, Head
of Business Administration, Cell Medica
info@cellmedica.co.uk
+44 (0)20 7554 4070
- Date
- 23rd September 2011