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A new take on cancer treatment ImmunAid Pty. Ltd. is a 70% owned subsidiary of Genetic Technologies which is developing and exploiting proprietary technology aimed at improving treatment outcomes in chronic diseases, such as cancer, using traditional and new therapeutic agents. Targeting the immune system The research undertaken as part of the ImmunAid project has discovered a phenomenon of the immune cycle which shows that the immune system switches itself “on and off” in a continuous and repetitive cycle in patients with chronic diseases such as cancer and HIV. A critical insight made by the inventor behind the ImmunAid research is that the timing of the administration of chemotherapy may determine a patient’s response. In cancer, the “off” switch is controlled by a group of cells called T-Regulatory cells which can be manipulated by the accurate and skilful timing of chemotherapy. Once unleashed, the immune system is then free to attack the cancer. In the relatively-rare 7% of cases where chemotherapy is completely effective and cancer is eliminated, the ImmunAid researchers believe that chemotherapy may actually be having a greater effect on the immune system than on the cancer. This is a major paradigm shift in the fields of cancer treatment and immunology. At the recent American Society of Clinical Oncology conference held in Orlando, Florida, investigators at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota reported the results of a pilot trial they conducted entitled “Possible therapeutic reversal of immune suppression in patients with metastatic melanoma by timed delivery of temozolomide chemotherapy”. This pilot study, co-designed by the ImmunAid team, used ImmunAid's concept for timed intervention with chemotherapy. It has since provided sufficient preliminary supportive human data to warrant a larger definitive study. Commercial opportunity With encouraging technical results having now been obtained from various clinical studies, including that undertaken at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, USA. Genetic Technologies has decided to invite expressions of interest from third parties capable of participating to expedite the development and potential commercialisation of the ImmunAid technology. A number of potential commercialisation partners have since been identified and contacted. |
