New Cancer Vaccine Approved for Limited Use in Russia

Patients who have suffered from renal cell carcinoma and have been deemed at risk for disease recurrence have a new option: get vaccinated. The Russian Ministry of Public Health has given a registration certificate for the administration of the vitespen, also known as Oncophage.

Derived individually from each patient’s tumor, Oncophage’s active ingredient is the “antigenic fingerprint” of the person’s specific cancer and works by reprogramming the body’s immune system to target and kill cells containing this so-called fingerprint.

Produced by Antigenics Inc., Oncophage is the first personalized cancer vaccine to be introduced to any market, Russian or otherwise. Antigenics Inc. hopes to launch the product in Russia later this year.

Vsevolod Matveev, professor at Blokhin’s National Cancer Research Center of RAMS in Moscow, explained, “the current standard of care for patients with nonmetastic renal cell carcinoma consists of surgical removal of the kidney, followed by observation.” He went on to describe, “Following surgery, these patients often request treatment options to help prevent or delay recurrence of their disease. This registration means patients in Russia with earlier stage disease will now have [Oncophage] as a treatment option.”

Quite possibly the most exciting thing for patients is the lack of major side effects experienced during the experimental trials of Oncophage. Some of the mild and common side effects noted included injections site induration, fatigue, injection site erythema, headache, injection site pain and rash.

While some of the data regarding success rates are still being analyzed, Antigenics Inc. did say that, “results from the 25th percentile indicate that recurrence-free survival was extended by approximately 1.7 years.”

While not approved outside of Russia, the treatment has been fast tracked by the US Food and Drug Administration for metastatic melanoma and renal cell carcinoma.

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