Aug 16 - Morphotek, Inc. Announces Initiation of A Phase I Study for MORAb-028, an IgM-Type Monoclonal Antibody, in Patients with Advanced Melanoma (Morphotek Inc.) - NEW
Pre-clinical pharmacology studies suggest that MORAb-028 binds to GD2, a cell surface ganglioside that is expressed on cells associated with melanoma, small cell lung carcinoma and a subset of other cancer types.
http://www.morphotek.com/Default.aspx?p=2503&d=387

Aug 16 - Toxicity ends prospects for alemtuzumab as consolidation for CLL (OncoLink) - NEW
The monoclonal anti-CD52 antibody alemtuzumab (Campath-1H) is approved for CLL, and preliminary studies showed it could eliminate residual disease after different induction therapies.
OncoLink news report

Aug 15 - Drugs encased in nanoparticles travel to tumors on the surface of immune-system cells (EurekAlert!)
A team of MIT engineers has designed drug-carrying pouches made of fatty membranes that can be attached to sulfur-containing molecules normally found on the T-cell surface.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-08/miot-dei081110.php

Aug 11 - How salmonella helps kill cancer cells (Science News)
Scientists already knew that diarrhea-causing Salmonella typhimurium helps the immune system recognize melanoma, but a paper in Science Translational Medicine shows how.
News story

Aug 10 - New insights into how antibodies are made suggests new approach for anti-cancer drug targets (Babraham Institute)
Genes from the Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3Ks) family of enzymes are critical in enabling the B cells to produce antibodies in the spleen and lymph nodes.
http://www.babraham.ac.uk/news2010/10-aug.html

Aug 10 - A Cancer Treatment That Sticks Around (NCI Cancer Bulletin)
A new study in mice may help revive the clinical prospects of the cytokine interleukin-12 (IL-12), a drug that stimulates the immune system to attack tumors.
http://www.cancer.gov/ncicancerbulletin/081010/page4

Aug 10 - Genmab Announces Top-Line Interim Results for Ofatumumab in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (Genmab A/S)
Ofatumumab is a fully human, high-affinity antibody targeted at the CD20 molecule in the cell membrane of B-cells.
Press release

Aug 9 - Health Canada approves Herceptin for patients with HER2-positive advanced stomach cancer (PharmaLive)
Health Canada has approved HERCEPTIN(R) (trastuzumab), in combination with XELODA(R) (capecitabine) or intravenous 5-fluorouracil and cisplatin, for the first-line treatment of patients with HER2-positive metastatic adenocarcinoma of the stomach (gastric cancer) or gastro-esophageal cancer.
http://pharmalive.com/News/index.cfm?articleid=722228&categoryid=29

Aug 9 - Advanced lymphoma regresses with TLR9 agonist vaccination (OncoLink)
In a phase I/II study, the research team treated 15 patients with low-grade B-cell lymphoma with low-dose radiotherapy to a single tumor site and injected PF-3512676 at the same site.
OncoLink news report

Aug 8 - More cancer-fighting power -- mouse with highly effective components of the human immune system (EurekAlert!)
Researchers have modified T cell receptors (TCRs) so that they no longer ignore cancer cells, but instead specifically track and recognize them.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-08/haog-mcp080610.php

Aug 4 - Clinical Phase I Results of GANYMED’s iMAB362 Antibody Demonstrate Excellent Safety (GANYMED Pharmaceuticals AG)
iMAB362 targets the cell surface antigen Claudine 18.2, which is present in 70% of all gastric cancers, 50% pancreatic cancers, 30% esophageal cancers and 25% non small cell lung (NSCL) cancers.
Press release (PDF)

Aug 4 - Glycotope Received Regulatory Approval for Glycooptimized and Fully Human Glycosylated Antibody CetuGEX™ and Enrolls First Patients in Clinical Trial (Glycotope GmbH)
CetuGEX™ is an improved version of a currently marketed anti-EGFR antibody in which the antibody’s fully human glycosylation has been optimized to yield a largely improved anti-tumor ADCC activity, bioavailability and contains no non-human immunogenic carbohydrate structures.
http://www.glycotope.com/news-media/news/1288/

Aug 3 - Northwest Biotherapeutics (NWBT): Long-Term Follow-Up of DCVax(R) Treated Brain Cancer Patients Shows 33% of Patients Reached 4-Year Survival and 27% Have Reached or Exceeded 6-Year Survival (BioSpace)
DCVax®-Brain is made up of the patient's own dendritic cells that have been activated and "educated" to mobilize the whole immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells bearing the biomarkers of the patient's own tumor.
http://www.biospace.com/news_story.aspx?NewsEntityId=189445

Aug 3 - ADXS Gets Formal Go-Ahead from India's DCGI to Conduct Phase II Cervical Cancer Trial (Advaxis, Inc.)
The trial will involve administering ADXS11-001, a live attenuated Listeria vaccine that targets the human papilloma virus (HPV) oncoprotein E7, alone or in combination with cytotoxic therapy.
http://www.advaxis.com/press-releases/134-ADXS_Gets_Formal_GoAhead.html

Aug 2 - Alphavirus-based vaccine may slow some cancers (EurekAlert!)
The vaccine is able to stimulate an immune response, even in the face of profound immune system suppression, a condition most patients with advanced cancer experience.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-08/dumc-avm072810.php

Aug 2 - BioVex announces publication of head and neck cancer clinical trial results with OncoVEX^GM-CSF in the journal Clinical Cancer Research (BioVex Inc.)
OncoVEX^GM-CSF is a first in class oncolytic vaccine.
http://www.biovex.com/08_02_10_Biovex_Trial_Results.html

Aug 2 - Royal Adelaide Hospital Approves Commencement of Patrys Melanoma Human Trial (Patrys Ltd.)
The clinical trial will evaluate the natural human antibody PAT-SM6 which targets Glucose-Regulated Protein 78 (GRP78).
Press release (PDF)