Our products
Cytorex: Cancer Immunotherapy
Cytorex represents a revolutionary approach to treating cancer patients with malignancies associated with oncogenic viruses.
Cancerous cells often express unusual molecules on the cell surface which can identify the cell as malignant. These molecules are referred to as tumor associated antigens and extensive research has demonstrated that a cellular immune response can be induced or augmented which results in cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) targeting and killing the malignant cells.
Our lead cancer immunotherapy product is Cytorex EBV which targets malignancies associated with the oncogenic Epstein Barr virus (EBV).
EBV is a virus that infects more than 90% of the human population on a latent basis. It has long been associated with various types of cancer, including lymphoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma and gastric cancer. While EBV may or may not be associated with the specific pathogenesis of a patient’s cancer, malignant cells which express EBV antigens can be targeted with Cytorex EBV.
Cytorex EBV is comprised of CTLs that recognise and kill cells expressing EBV antigens, thus delivering a potent anticancer therapy. The therapeutic action is highly specific to the malignant cells and does not harm healthy cells, hence the safety of the product in addition to its efficacy is important to consider relative to current chemotherapy and radiotherapy approaches to treating patients.
Cell Medica is developing this cellular therapy in collaboration with the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Baylor College of Medicine (CAGT). The senior members of the CAGT are the foremost leaders in the clinical research of EBV-CTLs and have treated over 280 patients across several disease indications. Recent clinical results with EBV-CTLs have shown that this cell therapy can provide a safe and efficacious treatment for patients with EBV-associated lymphoma.
Please click here for further details on the research and development of Cytorex EBV.