A new drug may soon become a part of the treatment protocol for pancreatic cancer patients. The drug, IMM-101, was the subject of a patent granted to Immodulon Therapeutics, Inc. in December 2013.[1] IMM-101 is a bacterially derived systemic immunomodulator administered intradermally, meaning it is created using killed bacteria, it modifies the operation of the immune system, and it is given via an injection into the skin.[2][3][4] The drug works by stimulating innate and adaptive T-cells, which attack the cancerous growth.[5] Pancreatic cancer in particular is characterized by a shield of cells protecting the tumor.[6] For this reason, IMM-101 must be administered in concert with gemcitabine, a chemotherapy drug, which serves to break down the protective shield.[7]
Early clinical trials have yielded promising results. Median overall survival for pancreatic cancer patients treated with IMM-101 was 7.5 months, versus 4.4 months with chemotherapy alone.[8] Notably, patients did not exhibit any adverse effects, a rare phenomenon among cancer treatment drugs.[9] For this reason alone, the drug is likely to find acceptance in the oncology community, although FDA approval is still pending.[10]
[1] Cancer Therapy, U.S. Patent No. 8,617,520 (filed Feb. 15, 2012) (issued Dec. 31, 2013).
[2] Caroline Helwick, Pancreatic Cancer: Latest Drug Development Hits and Misses, The ASCO Post (Feb. 25, 2015), http://www.ascopost.com/issues/february-25-2015/pancreatic-cancer-latest-drug-development-hits-and-misses/.
[3] Derek Lowe, Pancreatic Cancer Progress? Maybe, Science Translational Medicine (Sept. 9, 2016), http://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2016/09/09/pancreatic-cancer-progress-maybe.
[4] K. Noel Masihi, Fighting Infection Using Immunomodulatory Agents, 1 Expert Opinion on Biological Therapy 641, 642 (2001).
[5] Sarah Boseley, New drug ‘wakes up’ immune system to fight one of deadliest cancers, The Guardian (Sept. 6, 2016, 4:00 PM), https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/sep/06/new-drug-wakes-up-immune-system-to-fight-one-of-deadliest-cancers.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Helwick, supra.
[9] Id.
[10] Immodulon Therapeutics, http://www.immodulon.com (last visited Sept. 15, 2016).