Successful Pre-clinical Trial for Defence Therapeutics' ARM-002 Anti-Cancer Vaccine

Defence Therapeutics Inc., a Canadian biopharmaceutical firm, recently achieved success in a pre-clinical trial for its ARM-002 vaccine, targeting pancreatic cancer. This trial combined the vaccine with an anti-PD-1 immune-checkpoint inhibitor, greatly impairing tumor growth in animal models.

The combination therapy proved potent, keeping all treated animals alive for a period that translates to nearly five years in humans, while significantly blocking tumor growth. These promising results have steered the company to focus its upcoming Phase I trials specifically on pancreatic cancer.

Given the aggressive nature of pancreatic cancer, which is often diagnosed in late stages, current treatment options are limited and not highly effective. Defence Therapeutics aims to change this scenario by providing innovative immune therapies, advancing their applications from pre-clinical studies to clinical trials.

The ARMS-002 vaccine has also shown efficacy in other cancers such as solid T-cell lymphoma and melanoma, illustrating the versatility of Defence Therapeutics' platform. The global market for pancreatic cancer treatments is expected to grow significantly, potentially reaching over USD 36 billion by 2036.