KANSAS CITY, Mo., Jul 18 (Reuters) - AVAX Technologies Inc. on Tuesday said
it has begun selling a personalized skin cancer vaccine in Australia, the first
commercial launch of a custom-made skin cancer vaccine.
AVAX's M-Vax vaccine, sold by AVAX Australia Pty. Ltd., a joint venture
between AVAX Technologies and Australian Vaccine Technologies Ltd. (AVT), is
made from an individual's tumor cells.
Although M-Vax is only available in Australia, AVAX said it was exploring
options for providing the vaccine to patients in a number of European countries.
And in the United States, a multi-center pivotal registration trial of M-Vax for
Stage III melanoma is now underway to meet US regulatory requirements. A Phase
II trial using M-Vax for the treatment of Stage IV melanoma is also being
conducted.
The company said that in hundreds of US patients with Stage III melanoma
treated in clinical trials, M-Vax has been associated with up to 50 percent to
55 percent five-year survival with no serious side effects.
The company's AC Vaccine technology is also in human clinical trials for
ovarian cancer, acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and breast cancer.
Melanoma is the most deadly form of skin cancer and afflicts approximately
400,000 people worldwide.
