BriaCell Therapeutics Attacks Cancer with Novel Off-the-Shelf Immunotherapies

The following post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga.

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In 2020, there were 2.3 million women globally diagnosed with breast cancer and 685,000 deaths, according to the World Health Organization. In the U.S., 12.9% of women born in the country today will develop breast cancer at some time during their lifetime. 

But continuing improvements in survival rates, beginning 30 years ago, are attributed to early detection and new modes of treatment.  BriaCell Therapeutics Corp.’s BCTX BCTXW)) mission is to develop novel immunotherapies to help fight cancer and continue that trend. 

Immunotherapies have come to the forefront of cancer treatment because they use the body’s immune system to destroy cancer cells and offer the potential for higher levels of safety and efficacy than chemotherapy. The immunotherapy strategy could also prevent cancer recurrence. 

In collaboration with Incyte Corp. INCY, BriaCell is engaging in a nonexclusive clinical trial immunotherapy collaboration to evaluate the effects of combinations of novel clinical candidates. Under the agreement, Incyte and BriaCell are evaluating novel combinations of compounds from Incyte’s development portfolio with BriaCell’s drug candidates in advanced breast cancer patients. The study is now in phase I/IIa of the clinical trial of Bria-IMT™, BriaCell’s lead candidate, in combination with the immunotherapy development candidates retifanlimab, an anti-PD-1 antibody, and epacadostat, an orally bioavailable small-molecule inhibitor of indoleamine dioxygenase. 

The key to BriaCell’s immunotherapy development is its availability off-the-shelf, according to company President and CEO Dr. Bill Williams. 

“Almost all drugs are off-the-shelf today, but in regards to our immunotherapy, it’s easier and quicker to manufacture, with the added opportunity to boost those therapies,” Williams said. “I think the big pharmas are going to be really interested in what we’re doing. There are a lot of therapies from other companies in development right now, looking for ways to take the brakes off the immune system. Our therapies put the foot on the gas, stimulating the immune system to specifically attack the patient's cancer.” 

BriaCell is also developing Bria-OTS™, an off-the-shelf personalized immunotherapy for advanced breast cancer; personalized to match the patient without the need for customized manufacturing. In Bria-OTS™, Briacell is working toward a match for more than 99% of the patient population to produce a potent and selective immune response against each patient’s cancer. The process focuses on eliminating the time, expense and complex manufacturing logistics associated with other personalized immunotherapies.

BriaCell has also announced it is expanding its breast cancer platform technology into other cancers. The expansion includes Bria-Pros™ for prostate cancer, Bria-Mel™ for melanoma and Bria-Lung™ for lung cancer, with the company anticipating beginning clinical trials for these therapies in 2022. 

For more information on BriaCell, go to www.briacell.com. 

The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.