PharmaJet partner, Scancell, will include PharmaJet’s needle-free delivery system in a Phase 2 clinical study of a vaccine for treatment of patients with advanced melanoma.
Scancell’s immunotherapy platform uses the body’s immune system to identify, attack and destroy tumors. In an earlier Phase 1/2 clinical trial, 89% of the resected patients survived for more than five years following vaccination with Scancell’s SCIB1 vaccine.
The Phase 2 study is designed to assess whether the addition of SCIB1 treatment to pembrolizumab or ipilimumab/nivolumab results in an improvement in patient outcomes for patients with metastatic disease.
The updated protocol adds needle-free injection with the PharmaJet Stratis system as Scancell believes needle-free delivery could improve patient acceptance.
Scancell is also using one of PharmaJet’s WHO-prequalified needle-free Injection systems for delivery of two SARS-CoV-2 DNA vaccine candidates, currently being evaluated in South Africa.
In a statement, Chris Cappello, president and CEO of closely-held PharmaJet, said that in addition to increasing patient acceptance, “our partners have published data showing superior results to electroporation, and improved immunogenicity with DNA vaccines.”
