After a two-year postponement, Northwest Biotherapeutics has started enrolling patients in a 240-patient clinical study of DCVax, its brain cancer vaccine. Previously, the trial had 33 patients and was conducted at 13 sites. But the trial was never suspended, and the enrolled subjects have continued to receive treatment even though no new patients have been admitted into the study.
"We never suspended the trial," explained Northwest Biotherapeutics' Chairman of the Board, Linda Powers, to MarketWatch. "We found and spent the money to keep the trial open and we kept treating those who had already enrolled. During the worst of this Great Recession, we did preserve our resources by not enrolling any new patients on top of the couple dozen patients already enrolled and being treated at our 13 trial sites across the country, in anticipation of continuing our positive clinical results and a broader economic revival."
For now, Powers won't comment on partnerships or other funding opportunities; she is focusing on the trial and moving DCVax forward. Northwest Biotherapeutics has also received FDA approval to start more Phase I trials for five other cancers.
"We are ecstatic that Northwest Biotherapeutics has resumed patient enrollment in the ongoing Phase II clinical trial, which has several dozen patients already enrolled. The preliminary results of the clinical data are showing more promise than any other treatments that the brain tumor community has seen in over 20 years," stated Barb Gibbs, executive director of Miles for Hope, in a release.
- see the Miles for Hope release
- read MarketWatch's coverage