Progress towards a new lung cancer treatment
A Liège-based biotech has just secured the necessary funding to develop a therapeutic vaccine against lung cancer.
PDC*line Pharma has raised 17.5 million euros, including 12 million euros from private investors and 5.7 million euros in the form of a loan from the Walloon Region. These funds allow them to continue their clinical studies on their therapeutic lung cancer vaccine project.
As Eric Halioua, President and CEO of this biotech company, explains, "What we are developing is a vaccine to activate the immune system and treat cancer that is present in the body, not prevent it. It is called a vaccine because the mechanisms are similar to those of a prophylactic vaccine, i.e. the immune system will be stimulated to defend itself against cancer."
The ongoing clinical trial will therefore measure safety and therapeutic effectiveness in patients with small cell lung cancer. If the expected results are positive, the validation process for the commercialisation of this treatment will be launched. But this deadline will not be possible within the next five years.
Such a treatment is bound to raise hopes, given that nearly two million people die of lung cancer each year worldwide.