Dendreon presents promising preclinical results from new technology for cancer immunotherapy
Dendreon Corporation today presents data for the first time relating to a new immunotherapy technology that allows for the selection of any gene as a target for cancer immunotherapy. In preclinical animal testing to date, this approach has provided up to 100 percent protection from developing cancer.
Dendreon's proprietary alternative reading frame (ARF) technology uses, as a target for cancer vaccines, abnormal peptides produced by cells as they translate genes into proteins. The sequence of ARF-derived peptides is totally different from the sequence of the biologically relevant protein derived from a given gene. Researchers at Dendreon have discovered that ARF sequences are potent targets for cancer vaccines.
These findings are being presented today by Reiner Laus, M.D., vice president of research and development at Dendreon, at the Knowledge Foundation's conference on Advances in Designing Cancer Vaccines in Boston, Mass.
"This technology provides an innovative approach for designing cancer vaccines. ARF-derived immunogens can be designed for all known genes and provide a vast reservoir of targets that have not been previously known or exploited," said Laus. "It was very surprising and exciting to discover that ARFs can be better immunogens and targets than the protein derived from the main open reading frame of a gene."
Other news from the department science
