Calviri, Inc., a company spun out of Arizona State University and based in the Phoenix Bioscience Core, has announced the successful conclusion of the Vaccine Against Canine Cancer Study on May 4, a five-year clinical trial investigating a novel preventive cancer vaccine in dogs. This multi-centre, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, the largest of its kind in veterinary oncology, represents a significant milestone in the fight against canine cancer, the company said in a press release.
Attempts at developing cancer vaccines failed for many years. However, the realization of the importance of neo-antigens to generate immune responses against tumours has led to recent reports of successful vaccine trials in humans. Neo-antigens are irregular peptides from mutations in tumour DNA. Unfortunately, these mutations are unique to each patient, requiring personal vaccines.
The VACCS trial marks a paradigm shift by leveraging what are now known to be shared neo-antigens. Stephen Albert Johnston, Calviri’s chief executive officer and former professor at Arizona State University, discovered these unique protein fragments that arise from errors during tumour RNA processing. He also found them to be present across multiple cancer types.
The VACCS vaccine consisted of 31 of these shared neo-antigens, allowing for a broad-spectrum approach to cancer prevention. The strategy has the potential to revolutionize canine cancer prevention by offering a single vaccine to protect against a wide range of cancers and may provide critical proof-of-concept to initiate similar efforts for human cancer prevention, Calviri said in its statement.
The rationale for testing a preventive cancer vaccine in dogs was published in the “Annals of Medical and Clinical Oncology”.
Welcoming the development, Dr Trisha D’Souza, senior veterinarian at the Animal Wellness And Rehabilitation Centre in Chembur, Bombay, said the vaccine could prove to be a groundbreaking development in the field of preventive medicine. “If a single vaccine is discovered to prevent ALL types of cancers in dogs, it would be as big as when the chicken pox vaccine was discovered,” Dr D’Souza said in an e-mail to The Snout. “This will also create a way for similar developments in other species, including human oncology.”
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The VACCS trial was conducted at three U.S. academic institutions known for their expertise in veterinary oncology: Colorado State University, University of Wisconsin, Madison, and University of California, Davis. Over 800 dogs were enrolled in the trial, following a meticulous screening process to exclude any pre-existing tumours or other serious health issues. Participants were then randomly assigned to receive the investigational vaccine or a placebo, ensuring scientific rigour and unbiased results. Subsequently, the dogs were examined every six months for tumours and received a vaccine boost every year. Blood samples were collected to examine the dogs’ health and immune response to the vaccine. The trial design has been published on ScienceDirect, a database of peer-reviewed full-text scientific, technical and health literature.
Safety remained a priority throughout the trial, with an independent Data Safety Monitoring Board headed by Dr Kristen Weishaar overseeing the process. Fortunately, no significant vaccine-related adverse events were reported, the company said in its release.
While analysis of the trial’s primary efficacy data, specifically the impact on cancer incidence, is still going on and slated for publication in a peer-reviewed journal, the initial safety/efficacy profile is encouraging, it said. Based on these positive findings, Johnston stated that “the safety and efficacy results are encouraging enough that we have begun production of an improved version of the vaccine for approval and conditional sales”. This next-generation vaccine holds the promise of becoming a valuable tool in the fight against canine cancer.
The success of the VACCS trial hinged on the collaboration of the participating institutions and the remarkable commitment of dog owners. According to Dr Douglas Thamm, principal clinical investigator, Colorado State University, “The owner participation was amazing. This was one of the largest clinical trials for dogs and it required significant commitment on the part of the owners. The owners made the trial a success.”
“The motivation of many of the dog owners was that this trial would lead to developing a vaccine to prevent cancer in humans. We all hope they are right,” said Dr Jenna Burton, co-principal investigator at the university.
Calviri thanked Open Philanthropy for its critical grant funding, which enabled this high-risk research endeavour. “We are grateful that OP would take a chance, where no one else would, to fund such a high-risk trial,” said Dr David Vail, principal investigator, University of Wisconsin.
“The VACCS team has done an amazing job,” said Heather Youngs, senior programme officer at Open Philanthropy. “We are so pleased with the progress on this trial and the potential of this technology to save many animal (and potentially human) lives in the future.”
Calviri is also developing a diagnostic for the early detection of cancer in dogs and people, as well as off-the-shelf therapeutic and preventative cancer vaccines.
SOURCE: PR Newswire
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