CEL-SCI Reports Record Monthly Patient Enrollment for Phase III Head & Neck Cancer Trial

CEL-SCI Corporation recently announced that during the month of April, it has enrolled 41 patients in its ongoing Phase III trial of its investigational immunotherapy Multikine (Leukocyte Interleukin, Injection) in patients with advanced primary head and neck cancer. This is a new monthly enrollment record, surpassing the prior record of 38 patients enrolled in October 2015. Total patient enrollment for the trial is now 797 as of April 30, 2016.

The Multikine Phase III study is enrolling patients with advanced primary (not yet treated) squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. The objective of the study is to demonstrate a statistically significant improvement in the overall survival of enrolled patients who are treated with the Multikine treatment regimen plus standard of care (SOC) vs. subjects who are treated with SOC only.

Multikine (Leukocyte Interleukin, Injection) is an investigational immunotherapeutic agent that is being tested in an open-label, randomized, controlled, global pivotal Phase III clinical trial as a potential first-line treatment for advanced primary squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Multikine is designed to be a different type of therapy in the fight against cancer: one that appears to have the potential to work with the body’s natural immune system in the fight against tumors.

Multikine is also being tested in a Phase I study under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the US Naval Medical Center, San Diego, and at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), as a potential treatment for peri-anal warts in HIV/HPV co-infected men and women. Dr. Joel Palefsky, a world-renowned scientist and Key Opinion Leader (KOL) in human papilloma virus (HPV) research and the prevention of anal cancer, is the Principal Investigator at UCSF, which was added to the study in July 2015.

CEL-SCI has entered into a $12-million co-development agreement with Ergomed Clinical Research Limited for the ongoing Phase III clinical trial against head and neck cancer. CEL-SCI has also entered into two additional co-development agreements for up to $3 million each with Ergomed to further the development of Multikine for cervical dysplasia/neoplasia in women who are co-infected with HIV and HPV and for peri-anal warts in men and women who are co-infected with HIV and HPV.

CEL-SCI’s work is focused on finding the best way to activate the immune system to fight cancer and infectious diseases. Its lead investigational therapy, Multikine (Leukocyte Interleukin, Injection), is currently being studied in a pivotal Phase III clinical trial as a potential neoadjuvant treatment for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. If the study endpoint, which is a 10% improvement in overall survival of the subjects treated with the Multikine treatment regimen plus the current SOC as compared to subjects treated with the current SOC only, is satisfied, the study results will be used to support applications that the company plans to submit to regulatory agencies in order to seek commercial marketing approvals for Multikine in major markets around the world. Additional clinical indications for Multikine that are being investigated include the treatment of cervical dysplasia in HIV/HPV co-infected women, and the treatment of peri-anal warts in HIV/HPV co-infected men and women. A Phase I trial of the former indication has been completed at the University of Maryland. The latter indication is now in a Phase I trial in conjunction with the US Naval Medical Center, San Diego, under a CRADA and UCSF. CEL-SCI has issued patents on Multikine from the US, Europe, China, and Japan.

CEL-SCI is also developing its pre-clinical L.E.A.P.S. (Ligand Epitope Antigen Presentation System) technology for the potential treatment of pandemic influenza in hospitalized patients and as a potential vaccine for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. The company has operations in Vienna, Virginia, and in/near Baltimore, MD.