BioVaxID

LymphomaInfo.net has a interesting series on the BioVaxID vaccine, the latest installment of which was published about a week ago.

I've written about BioVaxID before.  The "ID" stands of "ideotype," a kind of personalized cell. Bascially, BioVax works by taking the lymphoma cells of an individual patient, training the patient's immune system to recognize those cells and attack them, and then putting the trained stuff back into the patient to clean up. I've always found it fascinating because the lymphoma specialist I saw for a second opinion mentioned this treatment in particular, and was very excited about its possibilities.

In August, the company that makes the vaccine, BioVest, was asked by the FDA to conduct a new series of trials to test its effectiveness, even though trials had already been conducted and showed some promise.

As the interview with Dr. Eduardo Sotomayor (lead investigator in the initial BioVax trial) suggests, the FDA wants more information because the initial trial was begun in 2000, just as Rituxan was taking off. Much of the data for the trail came from patients who had not been given Rituxan, and the FDA wants to know how Rituxan (which targets the cells that the vaccine also targets) will affect the results.

Dr. Sotomayor has an answer. Read the interview to find out.

Of course, the new trial will still need to be run to confirm if he's right.

The links for the first three parts of the series are at the bottom the the interview. Definitely worth reading.