Genticel, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing immunotherapies to prevent human papillomavirus (HPV)-induced cancers, has received a US Patent (No. 9,095,537), to protect the use of CyaA-based (adenylate cyclase) antigen delivery vectors in combination therapies to treat cancer.

The CyaA vector is used in Genticel's lead product candidate, GTL001 (ProCervix), which is currently in a Phase II clinical trial. GTL0001 is a therapeutic vaccine for treating infections from HPV 16 and/or 18 before high-grade or cancerous cervical lesions develop. The patent is exclusively licensed by Institut Pasteur, an international research network, to Genticel.

The patent covers antitumor therapies that include a recombinant CyaA protein consisting of a tumor-associated antigen and a TLR (toll-like receptor) agonist in patients. TLR agonists have demonstrated immunological properties as adjuvants. It also covers the use of a CyaA vector in combination with chemotherapeutic agents, including cyclophosphamide, which is used in combination with immunotherapy protocols to treat cancer.

p>Genticel also has a European patent (No. 2061505), granted in 2012, which claims a composition consisting of a chemotherapeutic agent, a CyaA-vector, and an adjuvant for prevention or treatment of cancer.

Source: Genticel