BETHESDA, Md., Jan. 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Northwest Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ: NWBO) (NW Bio), a biotechnology company developing DCVax® personalized immune therapies for cancer, announced today that Dr. Marnix Bosch, the Company's Chief Technical Officer, will be presenting at the Phacilitate Cell And Gene Therapy Forum 2013, today at 3:30 pm in a session entitled Clinical Development Updates: Oncology. The conference is being held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel at 10th and H Street in downtown Washington, D.C., and is a leading multi-disciplinary gathering relating to new medical technologies involving cell therapies.
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Dr. Bosch's presentation is entitled Dendritic Cell Immunotherapy for Cancer – The Northwest Biotherapeutics Portfolio. He will be describing the Company's three distinct product lines, which are all based upon the Company's DCVax® platform technology using dendritic cells (DCs), the master cells of the immune system, to mobilize a patient's whole immune system to attack that patient's cancer in a powerful but non-toxic manner. Dr. Bosch will discuss the Company's lead program, with its DCVax®-L product in a 300-patient Phase III clinical trial for brain cancer, and he will also discuss the Company's latest program, with DCVax®-Direct in a Phase I/II trial for all solid tumor cancers (cancers in any tissues) which are inoperable.
"We are pleased to participate in this year's Phacilitate conference, to describe the strong progress of our clinical programs with two different immune therapy products which are applicable to all solid tumor cancers," commented Linda Powers, CEO of NW Bio. "This multi-disciplinary gathering of scientific, medical, business and regulatory parties provides a unique forum for highlighting the multi-faceted strengths of our DCVax® products, including their scientific foundations, clinical significance, ease of administration and cost effectiveness."
DCVax®-Direct is NW Bio's third product line. It offers a potential new treatment option for a particularly severe unmet medical need: the wide range of clinical situations in which patients' tumors are considered "inoperable" because the patient has multiple tumors, or their tumor cannot be completely removed, or the surgery would cause undue damage to the patient and impair their quality of life. For these patients, the outlook today is bleak and survival remains quite limited.
When DCVax®-Direct was administered in pre-clinical animal studies, existing tumors regressed. Importantly, the tumors that regressed included not only tumors that were injected with DCVax®-Direct but also tumors on the opposite side of the animal's body which were not injected, indicating a systemic immune response. Further, when the animals were subsequently challenged (i.e., injected) with cancer cells, the animals did not re-develop cancer, indicating immune memory. The Company's proprietary activation step for the dendritic cells was key to these striking results.
DCVax®-Direct is based upon the same platform technology as the Company's first two major product lines: DCVax®-L and DCVax®-Prostate. Each product line involves two key ingredients: the dendritic cells (which are activated to mobilize the immune system to attack the patient's cancer), and biomarkers of the patient's tumor (which identify the targets for the immune system to attack).
The Company's first product line, DCVax®-L, is potentially applicable for all solid tumor cancers in which the tumors can be surgically removed. DCVax®-L is currently in a 300-patient randomized Phase III clinical trial for Glioblastoma multiforme brain cancer in both Europe and the United States.
The Company's second product line, DCVax®-Prostate, is for hormone independent prostate cancer, and has previously been cleared by the FDA for a 612-patient randomized Phase III clinical trial. The Company plans to enter into a partnership in order to proceed with this Phase III trial program.
For further information about the Company and its programs, please visit the Company's website at www.nwbio.com.
About Northwest Biotherapeutics
Northwest Biotherapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on developing immunotherapy products to treat cancers more effectively than current treatments, without toxicities of the kind associated with chemotherapies, and on a cost-effective basis, in both the United States and Europe. The Company has a broad platform technology for DCVax® dendritic cell-based vaccines. The Company's lead program is a 300-patient Phase III trial in newly diagnosed Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). GBM is the most aggressive and lethal brain cancer. The Company also previously received clearance from the FDA for a 612-patient Phase III trial in prostate cancer, and clearance from the FDA for Phase I/II trials in multiple other cancers. The Company has also conducted a Phase I/II trial with DCVax® for metastatic ovarian cancer.
Disclaimer
Statements made in this news release that are not historical facts, including statements concerning future treatment of patients with GBM and other cancers using DCVax® and future clinical trials, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "expect," "believe," "intend," "plan," "continue," "may," "will," "anticipate," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statement. Specifically, there are a number of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, such as the Company's ability to raise additional capital, risks related to the Company's ability to enroll patients in its clinical trials and complete the trials on a timely basis, the uncertainty of the clinical trials process, uncertainties about the timely performance of third parties, and whether the Company's products will demonstrate safety and efficacy. Additional information on these and other factors, including Risk Factors, which could affect the Company's results, is included in its Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") filings. Finally, there may be other factors not mentioned above or included in the Company's SEC filings that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statement. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or developments, except as required by securities laws.
SOURCE Northwest Biotherapeutics