$PVCT.OB: The Orthogonality Paradigm

Yesterday's PR of Craig et al.'s poster at SITC highlighted additional data that demonstrated the use of PV-10 in combination with systemic chemotherapy. The combination cancer treatments, whether chemotherapy, radiotherapy or immunotherapy, is a growing theme within the medical community. In the case of the work presented at SITC, PV-10, the immuno-chemoablative therapeutic agent, was combined with a systemic chemotherapeutic.

Pre-clinical and clinical data has shown PV-10 generates immunity even in patients afflicted with very late stage cancer. The immune system, however, can be overwhelmed by cancer (and infections). Management thinks the key, for very late stage disease, is to use a chemotherapeutic or another systemic immunotherapeutic agent (like Yervoy/Ipilimumab) to wound the cancer (the infection) just enough so the PV-10-generated immunity can finish it off. Like antibiotics, PV-10 and the application of other therapeutic agents in this manner (i.e., to wound cancer, before PV-10 finishes it off) would not cure anyone. Rather, they hold or bound the infection until the body's natural immune mechanisms can do the job of curing it.

Next up should be the results of combining PV-10 and anti-CTLA-4 system immunotherapeutic agents like Yervoy/Ipilimumab.

Note the importance of Provectus joint patent application with Pfizer for combining local and systemic therapies for enhanced treatment of cancer. More questions arise: How good were the pre-clinical results from combining PV-10 and Yervoy/Ipilimumab? What would the beneficial impact be on very late stage metastatic melanoma cancer patients from this combination? What would the implications be for Bristol-Myers Squibb, and for Pfizer (which retained the right to certain combinations of therapies with tremelimumab?

This Provectus work foreshadows Moffitt's subsequent murine results, having initially reproduced Craig and the team's work and identified the quintessential immune response: a more complete assessment of PV-10's immune-mediated response, demonstration on multiple cancers and in combination with other therapies, and the durability of the immune response (through various challenge studies).

Ultimately, the “orthogonality paradigm” demonstrates PV-10 is orthogonal to (neither impacted by nor having an impact on) other therapeutic agents. This is important because PV-10 would be used first, second and at all times during patient treatment.