LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Prokarium, a biopharmaceutical company pioneering the oncology field of microbial immunotherapy, announced today it exercised its option with Lausanne University Hospital (Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois — CHUV) for an exclusive, worldwide license for the use of Salmonella immunotherapy in the treatment of bladder cancer.
“This intellectual property is an important milestone for our lead oncology program as it enters clinical development in 2023 and also lays the groundwork for expanding Salmonella immunotherapy into other solid tumors,” said Livija Deban, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of Prokarium. “Microbial immunotherapy is the gold standard-of-care in the treatment of bladder cancer. However, high recurrence rates and limited treatment options are currently available for patients. Prokarium is introducing a differentiated, efficacious microbial immunotherapy to a market that has seen little disruption in over 30 years.”
In exchange for the exclusive license, Prokarium will make an upfront payment, as well as additional payments upon achievement of development and commercialization milestones, and, if any product is approved, will pay royalties on net sales.
“Since initiating our collaboration with Prokarium in 2019, our team at the Department of Urology at CHUV has generated a robust preclinical data package demonstrating that Prokarium’s proprietary Salmonella bacteria generates quantitatively and qualitatively superior immune responses with different kinetics compared to the standard-of-care,” said Dr Denise Nardelli-Haefliger, Head of the Urology Research Unit. “Together with Prof Patrice Jichlinski, Prof Beat Roth, Dr Ilaria Lucca and Dr Sonia Domingos-Pereira, we are thrilled to see that the results of our collaboration have the potential to expand the disease-free interval and improve quality of life in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC).”
About Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer (NMIBC)
Bladder cancer represents 5% of all new cancer cases in the US and accounts for 550,000 new cases yearly worldwide. The clinical staging is determined by the depth of invasion into the bladder wall. More than 70% of cases are diagnosed at an early stage, also known as non-muscle invasive bladder Cancer (NMIBC). Despite early diagnosis, the only approved therapies are Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), which often faces shortages, and chemotherapy, both delivered intravesically. Because of its high incidence and the limited number of treatment options, a huge unmet medical need remains in NMIBC.
About the Lausanne University Hospital - CHUV
The CHUV, Lausanne University Hospital, is one of the five university hospitals in Switzerland. With its 16 clinical and medico-technical departments and their numerous services, the CHUV is renowned for its academic achievements in health care, research, and teaching. The CHUV is also a well-known center of medical education and research thanks to its collaboration with the Faculty of Biology and Medicine of the University of Lausanne and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). The CHUV has been recognized as one of the World’s 10 best hospitals according to the 2021 ranking of Newsweek magazine. It is with enthusiasm, that the Chairman of the Department of Urology, Prof Beat Roth, will pursue and support the research and studies with this novel treatment for bladder cancer.
About Prokarium
Prokarium is a biopharmaceutical company pioneering the field of microbial immunotherapy. Our pipeline is designed to unlock the next level of immuno-oncology by building on the most recent advances in cancer immunology. Prokarium’s lead program is focused on transforming the treatment paradigm in bladder cancer by orchestrating immune-driven, long-lasting antitumor effects. Prokarium is based in London, UK. For further information, visit https://www.prokarium.com.
