Torigen Pharma wins 2018 KC Animal Health Corridor Innovation AwardAugust 30, 2018Torigen Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Farmington, Conn., company that provides personalized cancer immunotherapies to the veterinary market, has won the Innovation Award at the KC Animal Health Corridor Investment Forum in Kansas City, Mo. Torigen presented its autologous immunotherapeutic cancer vaccine, VVax-001, for dogs during the forum. The company was honored with the award and a check for $10,000. Torigen was among 12 emerging animal health companies from three countries who competed for investments in a "Shark Tank" format with more than 400 venture capital funds, investment firms, and potential partners at the 10th annual KC Animal Health Investment Forum on Aug. 21. Each company was given 10 minutes to present their ideas followed by a five-minute Q&A. Presenting companies were seeking anywhere from $500,000 to $20 million in funding and had revenue projections of $20 million within five to seven years. A national committee of agricultural and animal health experts selected the finalists. The Investment Forum in Kansas City is one of the world's only opportunities for early-and mid-stage animal health entrepreneurs to present their business plans and provide an inside look at the newest technology and innovations to potential investors. "The Global Animal Health Investment Forum is the …
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OSU enrolling dogs with mammary cancer for clinical trialAugust 29, 2018Oregon State University's Lois Bates Acheson Veterinary Teaching Hospital is now enrolling dogs with mammary cancer in a new clinical trial. Dog owners considering standard tumor removal surgery may be able to choose a new surgical procedure involving an intravenous injection of a cancer cell-illuminating nanoparticle compound that highlights exactly which tissue needs to be removed. After the mammary tumor is removed, the surrounding tissue is irradiated with an infrared laser that causes the nanoparticle compound to heat up, killing any remaining cancer cells. The compound, developed by researchers in the Oregon State University College of Pharmacy, has been found to effectively cure cancer in mice. The new procedure eventually may be most beneficial for treating tumors in challenging anatomic areas, such as the brain and spine, according to Milan Milovancev, DVM, DACVS-SA, an OSU associate professor of small animal surgery participating in the study. The Oregon State University Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine is a member of a national consortium of veterinary oncology centers, managed by the National Institutes of Health, with a focus on translational veterinary medicine. Owners who believe their pets may be good trial candidates can ask their veterinarian …
ELIAS presents preliminary canine osteosarcoma results at ACVIMAugust 3, 2018During the 2018 American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Forum in June, ELIAS Animal Health, a clinical stage development company advancing novel treatments for companion animal cancer, shared preliminary canine osteosarcoma results for its cancer immunotherapy. According to study results presented by Brian Flesner, DVM, DACVIM (Oncology), University of Missouri, the company's new ELIAS autologous cancer vaccine, featuring a patented vaccine and T cell infusion combination approach, demonstrated "impressive survival times and minimal side effects." This cancer immunotherapeutic is being distributed as an experimental product under 9 CFR 103.3 to veterinarians treating dogs diagnosed with cancer. Efficacy and safety have not been established. One in four dogs will be impacted by cancer in their lifetimes, and cancer is the No. 1 cause of death in dogs older than 2. "There has been growing frustration in the veterinary profession with current treatment options, including chemotherapy and radiation, which have only modestly improved outcomes over the past 20 years," said Noe Reyes, DVM, medical director, ELIAS Animal Health. "We are very encouraged by the positive treatment outcomes reported by Dr. Flesner at ACVIM and look forward to starting our pivotal osteosarcoma trial evaluating this T cell-based immunotherapy in a broader population," …
Canadian researchers team up to fight canine osteosarcomaJune 14, 2018A group of researchers called the Dog Osteosarcoma Group–Biomarkers of Neoplasia (DOGBONe) at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, have joined forces to determine more accurate ways of measuring bone cancer, with the main objective of identifying biomarkers to assess patients with canine osteosarcoma. The presentation of osteosarcoma in dogs is remarkably similar to that of humans, according to the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC); so much so that computers are unable to distinguish between tumor samples from each species based on gene expression patterns. These similarities make canine osteosarcoma research all the more valuable, as any progress in developing better treatments for one species means progress for the other as well. "The dogs are a model for the worst of the human disease," said Geoffrey A. Wood, DVM, Ph.D., DVSc (pathology), of the OVC's Department of Pathobiology. "Right now, the information we find out in human osteosarcoma serves as a model for the dogs. There's an opportunity to go both ways between the species, for the benefit of both." The team consists of the university's top osteosarcoma researchers from across four departments at OVC, including co-leaders Dr. Wood and Alicia Viloria-Petit, Ph.D., MSc, BSc, of the Department of …
Ongoing quest for immunityJune 12, 2018Vaccines are a staple in preventive medicine, and every year more are added to the arsenal. Here’s what’s going on now in this sector of the profession.
Veterinary study shows promise for noninvasive echotherapy treatmentJune 5, 2018 A canine cancer patient was found to be cancer free following a noninvasive focused ultrasound treatment, reports Theraclion, a company specializing in medical equipment for echotherapy. The procedure was administered as part of a veterinary study at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine (VMCVM), financed by the Focused Ultrasound Foundation, which is investigating the treatment of dogs with sarcomas and mast cell tumors with Theraclion's Echopulse technology. "These canine tumors tend to occur on the limbs and may recur if they are not entirely removed. As a result, often amputation is required," said Jeffrey Ruth, DVM, DAVBP, DACVR, clinical assistant professor of radiology at VWCVM. "It is our hope that focused ultrasound will add to current treatment options by providing a way to noninvasively ablate the mass and also trigger an anti-tumor immune response." The study is one of several launched by the Focused Ultrasound Foundation in its veterinary program to develop focused ultrasound therapies for the treatment of companion animals. While the technology was originally designed to treat tumors in humans, its robotic design allowed for it to be easily adapted for veterinary uses, according to Theraclion. "As veterinary treatments are …
Blue Buffalo sets $3M fundraising goal to fight pet cancerMay 31, 2018Six million dogs and nearly the same number of cats are affected by cancer each year. Despite the huge impact of the disease, consumer surveys indicate that eight in 10 pet owners know little to nothing about pet cancer symptoms. To help combat the issue, Blue Buffalo Foundation announced plans to raise more than $3 million this year to help find a cure for feline and canine cancer. The foundation's annual consumer education program and Pet Cancer Awareness fundraising campaign, which have recognized May as Pet Cancer Awareness Month since 2004, provides financial support for families affected by pet cancer and funding for research at veterinary colleges and nonprofit organizations across the country. In October last year, the foundation awarded the Animal Cancer Foundation a $1 million research grant to launch the Canine Cancer Genome Project, which maps the tumor genomes of the most common cancers in dogs. "Everyone has been touched by human or pet cancer at some point," said Gerald Post, DVM, MEM, DACVIM (Oncology) and chief medical officer at The Veterinary Cancer Center in Norwalk, Conn. "For our loved ones, the pace of cancer research and the development of innovative treatment is too slow." For more …
Purdue University research aims to customize cancer treatmentsApril 26, 2018Researchers at Purdue University exploring Doppler light scattering, a new method for testing how patients will respond to various drugs, say it could help customize chemotherapy treatments for patients diagnosed with cancer, paving the way for more effective, personalized treatments. Similar to meteorological Doppler weather radar, which sends electromagnetic waves into clouds to determine the overall motion of raindrops, Doppler light scattering creates a 3-D map of activity occurring within living tissue samples, allowing researchers to see how cancerous cells respond to different chemotherapy drugs and treatment methods. "We're looking at the motion inside living tissue rather than rain droplets, and we're using infrared light instead of radar," said David Nolte, Ph.D, professor of physics and astronomy at Purdue. "It's like watching the weather inside living tissue as the tissue is affected by cancer drugs." Working in collaboration with John Turek, Ph.D, professor of basic medical sciences at Purdue's College of Veterinary Medicine, and Mike Childress, DVM, associate professor of veterinary medicine, Nolte's team performed the study on 19 dogs previously diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma, which is molecularly and clinically similar to lymphoma in humans. To test the Doppler light scattering method, biopsied tissue samples were placed in a multi-wall …
MAF awards Penn $775K to test osteosarcoma immunotherapy vaccine in dogsApril 20, 2018Morris Animal Foundation (MAF) has awarded a $775,000 grant to the University of Pennsylvania to test a vaccine that could improve longevity and quality of life for dogs with osteosarcoma. The research team will conduct clinical trials to evaluate a novel immunotherapy treatment that combines a molecule expressed by cancer cells with a modified live form of Listeria monocytogenes. A pilot study demonstrated this combination elicited a powerful, targeted immune response directed against osteosarcoma cells in patients suffering from this type of cancer. "This could be an incredible breakthrough in the fight against osteosarcoma, a highly aggressive and deadly cancer," said Kelly Diehl, DVM, DACVIM (SAIM), senior scientific programs and communications adviser at MAF. "For the last 50 years, Morris Animal Foundation has been funding cancer studies, and this is one of the largest, single grants we have ever awarded. The results of the pilot study were so compelling, that we knew we had to support this research team and their progression to a clinical trial." The vaccine, created by removing harmful genes from the Listeria bacteria and then attaching markers of osteosarcoma cells, supplements standard osteosarcoma treatment of amputation and chemotherapy by attacking cancer cells that …
KSU establishes translational and comparative oncology research centerJanuary 24, 2018The Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine's new Center of Excellence for Translational and Comparative Oncology Research (CETCOR) focuses on improving the diagnosis, management, and treatment of both human and animal cancers. CETCOR was established in late 2017 through start-up funding from the university's Johnson Cancer Research Center and support from the College of Veterinary Medicine. "The overriding objective of CETCOR is to expedite the pre-clinical and clinical development, production and/or licensure of novel or improved medical interventions—drugs, immunotherapeutics and medical devices—for the treatment, diagnosis and monitoring of both human and animal cancers," said Raelene Wouda, BVSc, DACVIM (Oncology), MANZCVS (SAIM), assistant professor of oncology in the college's clinical sciences department. One unique aspect of CETCOR is that it does not focus on a single type of cancer or the development of a single novel drug or technology, said Dr. Wouda. "Our group aims to facilitate the advancement of all cancer-associated research taking place on campus and within the wider K-State community, whether that be at the basic physiologic and pharmacologic level or in the later stages of the therapeutic drug development pathway," Wouda said. CETCOR's primary mission is to advance discoveries by university faculty and …
