Advaxis

Advaxis is a biotechnology company based in North Brunswick [ cite news |publisher=dBusiness News |title=Advaxis Enrolls Patients to Cervical Cancer Vaccine Trial
date=Last accessed 05-28-06 |url=http://newyork.dbusinessnews.com/shownews.php?newsid=73910&type_news=past ] and Princeton [cite news |publisher=Healthcare and Sales Marketing |title=Advaxis' Vaccine Candidate to Treat Existing Cervical Cancer |date=Last accessed 05-28-06 |url=http://salesandmarketingnetwork.com/news_release.php?ID=2007700 ] , New Jersey which develops Listeria cancer vaccines.

Development and production

Advaxis uses live genetically modified Listeria monocytogenes to treat cancers, infectious disease and problems of the immune system. [ cite web |publisher=Advaxis website |title=Advaxis |date=Last accessed 05-28-06 |url=http://www.advaxis.com/ ] With a total of over 10 years of innovative work conducted by Yvonne Paterson, Ph.D., Professor of Microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania, discoveries uncovered the unique capabilities of microbe Listeria. The microbe promotes simultaneous stimulatation of every aspect within the immune system creating a process for coordinating innate, humoral [antibodies|antibody] and encourages cellular adaptive immune responses in an extremely effective response to existing cancers and other diseases. [ cite web |title=Company |date=Last accessed 05-28-06 |url=http://www.advaxis.com/company.htm ]

Testing

Advaxis is the exclusive licensee of a patented broadly enabling Listeria platform technology that can elicit effective anti-tumor responses. The leading Advaxis Listeria vaccine candidate, "Lovaxin C", targets cervical cancer and head cancer and neck cancers. Other Listeria vaccines in development target breast cancer, ovarian cancer and lung cancers. Advaxis is entering a Phase I/II clinical trial. [ cite news |author=Biowire |publisher=Genetic Engineering News |title=Advaxis Enrolls Patients to Cervical Cancer Vaccine Trial |date=Last accessed 05-28-06 |url=http://www.genengnews.com/news/bnitem.aspx?name=1028667 ]

It is important to understand that Advaxis is developing vaccines for treating patients who have already contracted the target disease, such as cervical or breast cancer. In animal models of breast cancer, the data show that the Advaxis Lovaxin B vaccine, composed of the Listeria with the Her2/neu antigen, was able to successfully stop tumor growth.

Patent

Advaxis in partnership with GlaxoSmithKline laboratories unveloped the information that a non-haemolytic truncated form of Listeriolysin O Protein ((LLO)), a single polypeptide protein secreted by the Gram-positive bacteria Listeria monocytogenes [ cite web |title=Recombinant Listeriolysin-O |date=Last accessed 05-28-06 |url=http://www.prospec.co.il/~prospec/cart/catalog/rLLO.html ] , when fused to an antigen enhances a higher level of immunity protection. The joint invention has been patented. [ cite news |publisher=BioExchange |title=Advaxis and GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals SA Execute License Agreement for Listeriolysin O Protein Technology |date=Last accessed 05-28-06 |url=http://www.bioexchange.com/news/news_page.cfm?id=18261 ]

Notes