CEL-SCI Corporation (NYSE MKT: CVM), a late-stage oncology
company, announced today that Daniel Zimmerman, Ph.D., its Senior Vice
President of Research, Cellular Immunology, delivered a scientific
presentation at the 12th
Vaccines Research & Development: All Things Considered Conference
in Boston, Massachusetts held on July 9-11, 2014.
The presentation entitled “The next generation of Rheumatoid Arthritis
therapies: What has been learned from therapeutic vaccines for models of
Rheumatoid Arthritis. Is IL-17 the real key to new therapies?” discussed
the potential role CEL-SCI’s LEAPS vaccines might have on the future
treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis. The presentation centered on the
theory that using LEAPS vaccines to treat a complex disease like
Rheumatoid Arthritis can be beneficial because CEL-SCI’s vaccine can be
synthesized to stimulate the appropriate immune response to treat the
disease based on its immunodominant cytokine phenotype, which can be
predetermined before treatment. The ability to customize the LEAPS
treatment in this way offers clear benefits, as compared to using one
therapeutic approach such as disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs
(DMARDs) that are used today but are not universally applicable across
all rheumatoid arthritis patients. The Company presented data which
showed that LEAPS vaccines act at an earlier point in the progression of
Rheumatoid Arthritis than any other therapy and with more specificity.
According to a survey conducted by Decision Resources, rheumatologists
believe there is a high unmet need for Rheumatoid Arthritis therapies
which induce remission in a greater percentage of Rheumatoid Arthritis
patients than currently available agents. The world rheumatoid arthritis
drug market will generate revenues of $38.5
billion in 2017, according to Visiongain.
The data presented included results from studies conducted at Rush
University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois in the laboratories
of Tibor Glant, MD, Ph.D., The Jorge O. Galante Professor of Orthopedic
Surgery; Katalin Mickecz, MD, Ph.D. Professor of Orthopedic Surgery &
Biochemistry; and Allison Finnegan, Ph.D. Professor of Medicine. The
presentation also drew on work published from others in related
autoimmune conditions conducted in animal models and human studies that
tested various treatments that are approved or still under
investigation. These data supported CEL-SCI’s theory that vaccine
therapies are more disease specific and act upstream, which are
considered advantages, compared to current therapies.
“We have now shown and believe that LEAPS therapies that are tailored to
either Th1 or Th17 in Rheumatoid Arthritis models should produce better
results than therapies currently on the market, and we expect these
findings would be similar in other models and human diseases including
multiple sclerosis, uveitis and other autoimmune conditions. We believe
that this helps explain why other therapies that are for Th1 signature
conditions may not work with Th17 based approach and vice versa. As
opposed to current therapies available or in development, LEAPS vaccines
target the immune response well before the production of the signature
cytokines and not after the cytokines have been produced and released in
the inflammatory processes of autoimmune diseases. In our effort to
better understand the significance of a T-cell signature cytokine
phenotype, our analysis of other related publications indicated that
either a Th1 or Th17 cytokine profile in four different animal
autoimmune models were specifically induced and discussed for only that
particular disease model. However the meanings for therapeutic
interventions or overall significance in light of each other were not
recognized,” stated Dr. Zimmerman.
About LEAPS
L.E.A.P.S. is a patented, T-cell modulation, peptide epitope delivery
technology that enables CEL-SCI to design and synthesize proprietary
peptide immunogens. L.E.A.P.S. compounds consist of a small T-cell
binding peptide ligand linked with a disease-associated peptide antigen.
This platform technology has been shown in several animal models to
preferentially direct immune response to a cellular (e.g. T-cell),
humoral (antibody) or mixed pathway. It has the potential to be utilized
in diseases for which antigenic epitope sequences have already been
identified, such as: a number of infectious diseases, some cancers,
autoimmune diseases, allergic asthma and allergy, and select CNS
diseases (e.g., Alzheimer's).
About CEL-SCI Corporation
CEL-SCI’s work is focused on finding the best way to activate the immune
system to fight cancer and infectious diseases. Its lead investigational
therapy Multikine (Leukocyte Interleukin, Injection) is currently being
studied in a pivotal Phase III clinical trial against head and neck
cancer. If the study endpoint, which is a 10% improvement in overall
survival of the subjects treated with Multikine treatment regimen as
compared to subjects treated with current standard of care only is
satisfied, the study results will be used to support applications which
will be submitted to regulatory agencies in order to receive from these
agencies commercial marketing approvals for Multikine in major markets
around the world. Additional clinical indications for Multikine which
are being investigated include cervical dysplasia in HIV/HPV co-infected
women, and the treatment of peri-anal warts in HIV/HPV co-infected men
and women. A Phase I trial of the former indication has been completed
at the University of Maryland. The latter indication is now in a Phase I
trial in conjunction with the U.S. Navy under a CRADA (Cooperative
Research and Development Agreement).
CEL-SCI is also developing its LEAPS technology for the treatment of
pandemic influenza and as a potential therapeutic vaccine against
rheumatoid arthritis. The Company has operations in Vienna, Virginia,
and in/near Baltimore, Maryland.
For more information, please visit www.cel-sci.com.
When used in this report, the words "intends," "believes,"
"anticipated", “plans” and "expects" and similar expressions are
intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are
subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to
differ materially from those projected. Factors that could cause or
contribute to such differences include, an inability to duplicate the
clinical results demonstrated in clinical studies, timely development of
any potential products that can be shown to be safe and effective,
receiving necessary regulatory approvals, difficulties in manufacturing
any of the Company's potential products, inability to raise the
necessary capital and the risk factors set forth from time to time in
CEL-SCI Corporation's SEC filings, including but not limited to its
report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2013. The Company
undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revision
to these forward-looking statements which may be made to reflect the
events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the
occurrence of unanticipated events.
Copyright Business Wire 2014