OUR APPROACH
Designing the Next Generation of Cancer Vaccines
The Labyrinthin Antigen
A paradigm shift is currently underway on the relationship between cancer treatment markers and current cancer therapies.
The antigen Labyrinthin, recognized by the mouse monoclonal antibody MCA 44-3A6, is a prime example of such a marker because it serves as a pan-adenocarcinoma marker that is expressed on the surface of essentially all adenocarcinomas, including lung, breast, prostate, colorectal, prostate, stomach, liver, pancreatic, and ovarian cancer, but not in normal cells nor other types of cancers.
Unique Properties
1. Selectivity
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Valuable pan-tumor marker for all adenocarcinoma cells
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Labyrinthin does not express in normal, healthy, or non-adenocarcinoma cells
2. Presence & Location
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Anchored to the surface of tumor cell
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Presence on cell surface makes Labyrinthin directly accessible for antibody treatment and diagnosis
3. Function
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May play a physiological role in cancer
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Data indicate that Labyrinthin affects normal-to-cancer progression of cell
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Targeting a molecule that plays a part in cancer progression will more likely yield long-lasting effects compared to targeting a marker that is only a by-product of cancer
4. Detectability
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Presence and location of Labyrinthin is easy to monitor and track
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Allows for monitoring of cancer treatments and tracking of metastaseses that may not show up in the clinic
Therapeutic Approach:
Worldwide, there are approximately 7.9 million new adenocarcinoma patients each year. Our initial treatment vaccine is designed for patients to raise an immune response against their own adenocarcinoma. It is important to note that Labyrinthin is both a broad (all adenocarcinomas) and selective (not on healthy cells), and this approach is therefore ideally suited for those patients.
The LabVax Platform
In 2003, we engineered one of the earliest known synthetic peptide vaccines which was approved by the WHO for a Phase I/II in-human clinical trial. Our most recent synthetic vaccine, LabVax 2.0, is a labyrinthin-based peptide complex vaccine and is specifically designed to elicit both a humoral immune response (B-Cell) and a cell mediated immune response (T-Cell).
The idea is for the body to engage its own immune system to produce antibodies that target and locate Labyrinthin-positive cancer cells to initiate a process that both prevents tumor growth and kill existing tumor cells.
Synthetic Peptide Vaccines
