COVID vaccine maker BioNTech launches phase 2 cancer vaccine trial

CANCER DIGEST – June 19, 2021 – BioNTech, the maker of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, has turned its mRNA-based vaccine technology to cancer and has launched a phase 2 clinical trial to treat patients with relapsed melanoma that can’t be treated surgically.

The first dose of the BNT111 vaccine was given in combination with cemiplimab (Libtayo), a monoclonal antibody drug, in patients with melanoma that has not responded to other treatments. The clinical trial will enroll 120 patients to evaluate the effects of the combination treatment as well as the vaccine and Libtayo drug alone.

Drug offers new hope for high-risk BRCA patients

Click for OlympiA Clinical Trial video

CANCER DIGEST – June 5, 2021 – Early results show that for the first time a new therapy approach significantly reduced the risk of cancer returning after treatment in high-risk patients with mutated BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. 

The study was reported in the June 3, 2021 New England Journal of Medicine.