BriaCell Therapeutics Corp., a clinical-stage biotechnology company that develops novel immunotherapies to transform cancer care, is pleased to announce that the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the United States federal government’s principal agency for cancer research and training, has awarded the Company a research grant to advance its platform of personalized off-the-shelf immunotherapies for cancer.
The grant award of non-dilutive funds is titled “An off-the-shelf tumor cell vaccine with HLA-matching alleles for the personalized treatment of advanced solid tumors”. The Company intends to use the funds for the development of Bria-OTS™, BriaCell’s novel personalized off-the-shelf immunotherapies for advanced metastatic breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, and melanoma.
“There is an urgent need for breakthrough cancer treatments that would improve both survival and quality of life of cancer patients, especially in those with advanced disease. Our clinical findings to date show promising top-line survival and quality of life outcomes in patients treated with our personalized immunotherapy,” stated Dr. William V. Williams, BriaCell’s President and CEO. “We would like to thank NCI for its generous support, recognizing the urgency for this unmet medical need, and considering our novel technology, among numerous other applicants, as a treatment that could potentially revolutionize cancer care. The NCI award further validates our approach and may facilitate future non-dilutive funding opportunities.”
“Historically, the manufacturing and administration of personalized cancer treatments have been very time-consuming, complicated, and costly,” stated Dr. Miguel Lopez-Lago, BriaCell’s Chief Scientific Officer. “Our cutting-edge off-the-shelf personalized immunotherapies have the potential to address all these issues and may represent a major advancement in cancer care.”