Trying to treat a heterogeneous disease with homogeneous treatments?

LONDON, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, July 9, 2014 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Science recently highlighted cancer immunotherapy as the "2013 Breakthrough of the year." Following on from this Cancer Vaccines 2014 will be returning to London this autumn for its 3rd annual instalment on 15th and 16th September. In the run up to the conference, SMi Group spoke to keynote speaker Dr Michael Hanna, CEO from Vaccinogen, about oncolytic vaccine development.

“There is considerable excitement regarding immune suppressive checkpoint molecules that prevent immune destruction of established tumors. Considerable effort is going into finding tools to block these check points. Even if they are successful, there will still be a requirement for a robust immune response as an additional tool. Cancer vaccines can become the transformative agent that makes it all work in tandem. So they could be synergistic for established tumors and with autologous tumor as the source of antigen, be capable in the adjuvant setting prevent recurrence in occult disease patients. This approach takes into consideration intra- and inter- tumor heterogeneity at the genomic level.”

“Start thinking of cancer immunotherapy systems which recognize heterogeneity of cancer rather than concentrating on developing individual drugs. In other words quit trying to treat a heterogeneous disease with homogeneous treatments”

Hear more from Vaccinogen at Cancer Vaccines 2014 in Michael Hanna’s presentation entitled: The Proactive issue of tumor genomic heterogeneity in immunotherapy. Attendees will receive unique insights on the impact of antigen discovery for cancer vaccines, direction on patient selection strategies and current updates on the potential for development of epitope based vaccines for treatment and development.

Delegates will also be invited take part in a panel debate lead by Vaccinogen, alongside the University of Southampton and Cancer Vaccines Ltd, to discuss regulatory approval and clinical trial design.

Vaccinogen expand further into their presentation in a post conference workshop entitled Tumour Heterogeneity in Immunotherapy taking place on 17th September. For further details visit www.cancer-vaccinesevent.com

Other Key Speakers Include:
• Joseph Melenhorst, Director of the Product Development & Correlative Sciences laboratory, University Of Pennsylvania
• Tom Lillie, Therapeutic Area Head, Oncology, Amgen Ltd
• Alex Karlsson-Parra, CSO, Immunicum AB
• Harpreet Singh, Managing Director, Founder and CSO, Immatics Biotechnologies GmbH
• Christian Ottensmeier, Professor in Experimental Cancer Medicine, University Of Southampton
• Madiha Derouazi, CEO, Amal Therapeutics
• Eric Leire, CEO, DanDrit Biotech

Cancer Vaccines 2014
15th – 16th September
Holiday Inn Regents Park Hotel, London UK
www.cancer-vaccinesevent.com

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About SMi Group:

Established since 1993, the SMi Group is a global event-production company that specializes in Business-to-Business Conferences, Workshops, Masterclasses and online Communities. We create and deliver events in the Defence, Security, Energy, Utilities, Finance and Pharmaceutical industries. We pride ourselves on having access to the world’s most forward thinking opinion leaders and visionaries, allowing us to bring our communities together to Learn, Engage, Share and Network. We hold events in over 30 major cities throughout the world including London, Paris and Singapore and to date have welcomed over 200,000 participants from 80 countries. More information can be found at http://www.smi-online.co.uk

About Vaccinogen:

Vaccinogen, Inc. is a cancer vaccine company that is clinically testing its OncoVAX® treatment which is designed to prevent the recurrence of colon cancer and potentially other solid tumors. It is a patented process that circumvents the extreme diversity of tumor cells by leveraging a patient’s own live tumor cells to launch a broad immune response against colon cancer. The Company believes that OncoVAX, at an optimum dose and regimen, is the first colon cancer vaccine to demonstrate effectiveness in both preventing cancer recurrence after surgical resection of the primary tumor and addressing the diversity of cancer cells. OncoVAX has completed five clinical studies, including a Phase III trial with the optimum dose and regimen. The Company expects to begin a pivotal Phase IIIb trial under an FDA Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) classification in the fourth quarter of 2013. The SEC completed its review of Vaccinogen’s Form 10 registration statement on October 16, 2013. The Company’s shares trade on the OTC.QB under the symbol “VGEN”. More information is available at www.vaccinogeninc.com

Teri Arri
SMi Group Ltd
+44 (0)20 7827 6162
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