SAINT LOUIS, MISSOURI, USA, December 20, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Immunophotonics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotech company focused on immuno-oncology, was recently named one of six awardees by Johnson & Johnson Innovation in its Innovations for Vets QuickFire Challenge: Lung Cancer and Physical Trauma, a program launched by Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS (JLABS) with the Johnson & Johnson Office of Military and Veterans Affairs. The award will be used to support the conduct a nonclinical pilot study using the company’s lead drug candidate, IP-001 -- a novel immune stimulant -- to induce a systemic anti-tumor immunity and memory response against lung cancer when administered with chemotherapy. The grant provides Immunophotonics with the opportunity to expand the use of IP-001 beyond its current clinical strategy, which has thus far primarily focused on combining IP-001 with locoregional therapies, such as tumor ablation, to induce systemic anti-tumor immune responses.

Siu Kit “Samuel” Lam, PhD, who oversees research and development at Immunophotonics as the company’s Senior VP of Science and Research, remarked how pleased he was that Immunophotonics had received this award, stating:
“Chemotherapy and targeted therapy are the most common treatments for lung cancer. However, resistance often develops over time due to heterogeneity of tumor clones and their continuous genetic mutations, and they have limited ability to induce immune memory against cancer or reduce recurrence. This award will allow Immunophotonics to perform research on the efficacy of intratumoral injections of IP-001 when combined with chemotherapy for the treatment of lung cancer. This novel approach, which marks a natural extension of the company’s prior research on the use of IP-001 with other tumoricidal treatments such as thermal ablation, is intended to stimulate a systemic anti-tumor immunity against cancer by utilizing tumor antigens released by the chemotherapy and induce a protective memory against recurrence. Should the research outcome be positive, the benefits of this approach could further be extended to patients with a wide variety of solid tumor cancers, for many of whom chemotherapy is the standard of care.”

Lu Alleruzzo, CEO and President at Immunophotonics, expressed his gratitude to Johnson & Johnson Innovation (JJI) on receiving this award:
“I am humbled to see Immunophotonics named among the companies to receive this award, which will help lay the groundwork to advance IP-001 into additional clinical studies, further unlocking the potential of our novel immune stimulant. Our research thus far indicates that IP-001 has significant potential to transform patient lives, and as such, we are beyond grateful to Johnson & Johnson Innovation for providing us with the award and are honored to advance medicine for veterans and the military community.”

More information on this Quickfire Challenge, which is one of many sponsored by Johnson & Johnson Innovation each year, can be found here.

About IP-001
IP-001 is a proprietary glycan polymer that acts both as an antigen depot and a potent immune stimulant capable of inducing immunological responses against cancer and infectious diseases. It is designed to (1) prolong the availability of the target antigens (whether it is sourced through formulation or tumoricidal therapies), (2) facilitate the recruitment and activation of innate immune cells such as antigen-presenting cells (APCs), (3) increase the uptake of the tumor antigens into the APCs, and 4) lead to a potent downstream adaptive immune response against the antigenic targets. This ignited systemic, adaptive immune response then seeks out and eliminates its target throughout the body.

About Immunophotonics
Immunophotonics, Inc. is a privately owned clinical-stage biotech company pioneering the field of Interventional Immuno-Oncology™. IP-001, the first asset from the company’s intellectual property platform, has the potential to overcome the local defenses of the tumor microenvironment to enable a tumor-specific anticancer immune response in multiple solid tumor indications. The company is in phase 2 development and is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Such statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, and numerous factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those made or implied herein. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and Immunophotonics, Inc. undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

Public Relations
Immunophotonics, Inc.
info@immunophotonics.com
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