Monoclonal Antibody Therapy Looks Promising.(Brief Article)

2002 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- AltaRex Corp. (AXO.TO) announced the presentation of preclinical data on ProstaRex at the December 2001 American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Special Conference, "New Discoveries in Prostate Cancer Biology and Treatment."

The findings presented demonstrate that the complex of ProstaRex monoclonal antibody (MAb) and prostate specific antigen (PSA), but not ProstaRex MAb or PSA alone, activate robust T-cell responses and meaningfully slow tumor growth in animal model studies. The data suggest that ProstaRex MAb uniquely mobilizes beneficial T-cell immunity, using PSA as the target antigen, and indicate the potential of ProstaRex MAb as a novel and effective treatment for prostate cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death in men.

The ProstaRex studies were conducted by Dr. Dean Mann, head of the division of immunogenetics at the University of Maryland, in conjunction with AltaRex's animal model studies. Like AltaRex's other antibodies, ProstaRex MAb targets a specific tumor associated antigen that is present in the tumor and secreted into circulation. ProstaRex MAb specifically targets the antigen PSA.

An increasing level of PSA in the bloodstream is both a useful and well known marker for prostate cancer and a good potential target for immunotherapy. ProstaRex MAb is designed to bind to circulating PSA, forming a complex that activates the immune system to attack PSA-producing (prostate) tumors.

As the tumor grows, PSA is processed by the immune system as a self antigen, and therefore is not normally recognized. By targeting the foreign antibody ProstaRex to the circulating PSA, an immune complex can be formed that is processed as foreign by antigen presenting cells including dendritic ...