Berkeley, CA and Vancouver, BC – March 7, 2017 – BriaCell Therapeutics Corp. (“BriaCell” or the “Company”) (TSXV: BCT) (OTCQB: BCTXF) today announced that it has filed an international patent application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) to further expand its intellectual property portfolio underlying the Company’s current and anticipated pipeline of whole-cell cancer vaccines, including BriaVax™, and related companion diagnostic tests.
This new PCT application is designed to complement and extend on two patent applications filed by the Company with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in 2016, as well as the Company’s granted patent covering BriaVax™ (US 7,674,456 B2). The PCT patent application provides ways to generate additional whole-cell cancer vaccines and strategies for patient-specific selection of the most likely effective vaccine. BriaCell plans to develop its diagnostic, referred to as BriaDx™, in parallel to BriaVax™ in the upcoming Phase I/IIa clinical study in patients with advanced breast cancer. Patient screening for this clinical trial is anticipated to commence within this quarter, pending FDA authorization and patient availability.
“In my experience, fundamental scientific discoveries usually take many years to come to fruition, so I am particularly proud that we not only identified a potential solution to enhance the clinical effectiveness of an entire class of cancer vaccines, but have accomplished much of the work in less than 1.5 years,” commented Dr. Markus Lacher, BriaCell’s Head of R&D. “By analyzing the molecular makeup of BriaVax™, we have identified a plausible mechanism of action by which this vaccine can induce anti-cancer immune effects. This has implications that extend far beyond BriaVax™ and could revolutionize our understanding of how to develop targeted immunotherapies for cancer. The patent application lays the groundwork for this,” Lacher continued.
ABOUT BRIACELL
BriaCell is an immuno-oncology biotechnology company developing a more targeted, less toxic approach to cancer management. BriaCell’s mission is to serve late-stage cancer patients with no other treatment options.
Immunotherapy has come to the forefront of the fight against cancer, harnessing the body’s own immune system in recognizing and selectively destroying the cancer cells while sparing normal ones. Immunotherapy, in addition to generally being more targeted and less toxic than commonly used types of chemotherapy, is also thought to be a strong type of approach aimed at preventing cancer recurrence.
BriaVax™, the Company’s lead product candidate, is a genetically engineered whole-cell vaccine derived from a human breast tumor cell line. It is believed to activate the immune system to recognize and eliminate cancerous cells by inducing tumor-directed T cell and potentially antibody responses. The Company has already demonstrated encouraging clinical results, and is intent on building upon these results to further advance BriaVax™ through additional FDA-approved clinical trials in order to help cancer patients with limited therapeutic options. The results of two previous Phase I clinical trials (one with the precursor cell line not genetically engineered to produce GM-CSF and one with BriaVax™) have been encouraging in patients with advanced solid tumors. Most notably, one patient with metastatic breast cancer responded to BriaVax™ with substantial reduction in tumor burden including lung and brain metastases.
For more information, please visit https://briacell.com/noveltechnology/clinical-trials/ , and on BriaCell per se, https://briacell.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information
Except for the statements of historical fact, this news release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation which involves known and unknown risks relevant to the Company in particular and to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries in general, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual events to differ materially from current expectation. These risks are more fully described in the Company’s public filings available at www.sedar.com. Other forward-looking information in this news release includes but is not limited to the intended use of proceeds of the Offering and other terms of the Offering, the expected timing of completion of the Offering, the Company’s ability to satisfy the conditions to completion of the Offering and the need for additional financing.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation, except to the extent required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Contact Information
For further information, please contact:
BriaCell Therapeutics Corp.:
Farrah Dean
Manager, Corporate Development
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 1-888-485-6340
Burns McClellan, Inc.:
Bill Slattery, Jr.
Manager, Investor Relations
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 1-212-213-0006