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Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center part of first biotech venture between US, Cuba
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Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Havana-based Center for Molecular Immunology have formed the first biotech venture between the United States and Cuba.
The Immunotherapy Alliance S.A. — intended to accelerate research and development of new cancer treatments — is the next step in a partnership between Roswell Park and the Havana-based Center for Molecular Immunology established during New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s trade mission to Cuba in 2015.
“This historic venture with Cuba will provide Roswell Park access to innovative cancer-fighting drugs that could revolutionize treatments and put us one step closer to eliminating the threat of cancer once and for all,” Cuomo said in a press release. “By bringing the best and brightest together from across the world, New York is forging a path as a leader in modern medical research and advancement.”
The venture will provide Roswell Park with access to the CIMAvax-EGF vaccine — a lung cancer treatment developed in Cuba — and three other drugs that represent unique approaches to treating deadly types of cancer.
The alliance represents another step in the effort to research, develop and ultimately commercialize promising cancer drugs that can benefit American patients, according to Roswell Park officials.
“This is a momentous step forward on one of our most significant undertakings,” Candace S. Johnson, PhD, Roswell Park’s president and CEO, said in the release. “With the establishment of this company, we are entering a critical new phase of Roswell Park’s collaboration with these innovative Cuban scientists. Our goal is to develop these promising cancer therapies as quickly and effectively as possible so that they can benefit the greatest number of U.S. patients.”
Many patients in Cuba treated with CIMAvax have lived longer than those treated with standard chemotherapy. Those treated with the vaccine also derived quality-of-life benefits with minimal side effects.
After Cuomo’s 2015 trade mission, Roswell Park became the first medical institution in the United States to initiate FDA-authorized testing of CIMAvax-EGF.
Preliminary phase 1 results showed the vaccine is safe and well tolerated. The phase 2 portion of the initial study is expected to begin later this year.
Roswell Park investigators also believe CIMAvax-EGF may be effective for treatment of other malignancies, including head and neck, breast, prostate, colon and pancreatic cancers.
The other immunotherapy treatments that Roswell Park researchers will have access to under this venture are IL-2 mutein, VSSP and an investigational immunotherapy that targets tumor-associated gangliosides.