The future of canine cancer treatmentMarch 15, 2022The use of immunotherapies to treat cancers has become increasingly widespread in human medicine, with some of these promising therapeutics producing remarkable outcomes.
SPONSORED CONTENTHELP THEM FEEL COMFORTABLE IN THEIR OWN SKIN.Could the key to managing the constant itching and inflammation of canine atopic dermatitis be at the bottom of a bowl? + Learn More
VPN Plus+ ExclusiveIs immunotherapy the key to wiping out canine cancer?June 24, 2020An intact and functional immune system is essential to protect an organism against invading pathogens and infectious disease. However, the immune system also plays a pivotal role in identifying and eliminating transformed cells that, if left unchecked, would progress to cancer. Clinical evidence of the immune system's ability to control cancer comes from a number of observations in both the veterinary and medical settings. Consider the following examples: Cats receiving chronic immunosuppression following renal transplant have a higher incidence of lymphoma compared with the general feline population1,2 Spontaneous regression of transmissible venereal tumor is associated with an increased proportion of tumor-infiltrating cytotoxic CD8+ T cells3 Canine osteosarcoma patients that develop bacterial infections after limb-sparing surgery experience significantly prolonged survival times.4 The presence of tumor-specific, cytotoxic T cells within tumors, such as ovarian carcinoma, confers a favorable prognosis,5 whereas infiltration with regulatory or suppressor T cells confers a worse prognosis6 These observations, coupled with two decades of experimentation in murine cancer models, indicate that finding ways to initiate, augment, and broaden a patient's antitumor immune response holds promise for the treatment and possible prevention of cancer. Indeed, this is the aim of cancer immunotherapy, and recent advances in this field have …
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 …
Cornell, Tufts scientists receive $2.5M from NIH for cancer studyNovember 14, 2017Cornell and Tufts University scientists have received a five-year, $2.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to use dogs as a model for studying cancer immunotherapies. The dogs used in the study are treated with similar care as human patients, with the potential of being cured of lymphoma. Kristy Richards, Ph.D., MD, associate professor of Biomedical Sciences at the College of Veterinary Medicine with a joint appointment at the Division of Hematology/Medical Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine is co-principal investigator on the grant, along with Cheryl London, DVM, Ph.D., DACVIM, a research professor at Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. The grant will investigate whether combinations of PD1 inhibitors and other targeted therapies may increase effectiveness of cancer treatment in dogs, thereby setting up the possibility for human trials. Clinical trials in dogs should begin in the next six months, at which time, the researchers will reach out to referring veterinarians for candidate canine patients with lymphoma. Veterinary oncologists at the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine and at Cornell University Veterinary Specialists in Stamford, Conn., will enroll and treat patients during the trials. Patients also will be enrolled at the …
