Physicians in the Hermelin Brain Tumour Centre at Henry Ford Health recently administered the first dose of IGV-001, a combination immunotherapy developed by Imvax, as part of a Phase 2b clinical trial studying this medication for the treatment of glioblastoma (GBM), a deadly form of brain cancer.

A multicentre, randomised trial that aims to enroll 93 patients with newly diagnosed GBM brain tumours, this study is evaluating the safety and efficacy of IGV-001, a novel immunotherapy designed to stimulate the body's immune system to recognise and attack cancer cells, in combination with standard of care treatment for GBM.

"We are proud to be the first health system in the world to have administered IGV-001 as part of this important study," said Ian Lee, MD, Neurosurgeon and Principal Investigator of the Henry Ford Health site for this study.

"Glioblastoma is a devastating disease that has continued to elude effective treatment for many years. We believe IGV-001 has the potential to improve outcomes for patients battling this aggressive form of brain cancer."

The most common and aggressive type of primary brain cancer, GBM has a five-year survival rate of only 6.8%, according to the National Brain Tumour Society.

Survival rates and mortality statistics for GBM have been virtually unchanged for decades.

"This is a significant milestone for the study and follows promising safety outcomes data from Imvax’s phase 1 clinical trials,” said John A Boockvar, MD, lead investigator of this Phase 2b trial and Vice Chair of Department of Neurosurgery at Lenox Hill Hospital.

“We look forward to working with Henry Ford Health, as well as the other study sites, to further evaluate the safety and efficacy of this combination immunotherapy that we believe could make a meaningful difference in the lives of many affected by this disease.”

Source: Henry Ford Health