• 9/11/2007
  • Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
  • press release
  • EarthTimes.org

TapImmune Inc., a biotechnology company specializing in the development of immunotherapeutics for cancer and vaccines for infectious diseases, today announced FDA compliant testing company AppTec, headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, has begun preclinical testing of its lead product, a TAP-based therapeutic cancer vaccine. The immunotherapy vaccine is designed to treat a wide variety of TAP deficient carcinomas that include lung cancers, liver cancers, kidney cancers, head and neck cancers, breast cancers, melanomas, prostate cancers, colorectal cancers, and cervical cancers. This is the first step in the product development program that will bring the vaccine to Phase 1 Human studies.

After this initial testing and certification, TapImmune will move forward with the production of commercial grade vaccine in FDA approved facilities to commence toxicology and Phase I clinical trials.

The TAP vaccine performs a key step in moving characteristic markers called antigens to the surfaces of cells. Without TAP, there are no cancer markers, so the immune system fails to spot the rogue cells and the cancerous cells can grow undetected. In pre-clinical animal models, the Company’s vaccine has shown effective restoration of TAP which restores and augments the marker (antigen) presentation and subsequent recognition and killing of cancer cells by the immune system.

“This is a very promising technology that we believe could hold the key to making these types of cancers visible to our immune system thus allowing for an appropriate immune response,” said Denis Corin CEO TapImmune Inc. “It’s gratifying to see the progression from the lab to the development cycle.”

The TAP molecule also works as an adjuvant or ‘accelerant’ to enhance targeted vaccines against infectious diseases. The company expects to develop products based on this application to ensure a deep product pipeline and broad market applicability for its technologies.

About TapImmune Inc.

TapImmune Inc. is a biotechnology company specializing in the development of innovative therapeutics and vaccines in the areas of oncology and infectious disease.