The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended orphan designation for the WT1 cancer vaccine galinpepimut-S as a treatment for patients
with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM).
The EMA’s opinion has been forwarded to the European Commission (EC), which makes the final decision.
The EC grants orphan designation to products intended to treat, prevent, or diagnose a life-threatening condition affecting up to 5 in 10,000 people in the European Union. The product must provide significant benefit to those affected by the condition.
Orphan designation from the EC provides companies with certain development incentives, including protocol assistance, a type of scientific advice specific for orphan drugs, and 10 years of market exclusivity once the drug is approved for use.
About the vaccine
The WT1 vaccine consists of 4 modified peptide chains that induce an innate immune response (CD4+/CD8+ T cells) against the WT1 antigen. The vaccine is administered in combination with an adjuvant and an immune modulator to improve the immune response to the target.
Based on the vaccine’s mechanism and the accumulating evidence of activity in mid-stage trials, researchers believe the WT1 vaccine may have the potential to complement currently available therapies by destroying residual tumor cells of cancers in remission and providing ongoing immune surveillance for recurrent tumors.
The WT1 vaccine could potentially target more than 20 cancers that overexpress WT1, many of which are associated with relapse rates of up to 80% or more, as seen in patients with AML and MPM.
The vaccine is being developed by SELLAS Life Sciences Group. The company said that, in a phase 1 study, AML patients treated with the vaccine had a median overall survival of more than 3 years.
In a phase 2 trial of the vaccine, adult AML patients had a median overall survival of around 4 years. Data from the phase 2 trial are scheduled to be presented at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting.
SELLAS said it expects to begin a phase 3 trial of the vaccine in AML patients later this year.
