Qu Biologics Inc is a biotechnology company working to develop Site Specific Immunomodulators (SSIs) that are used to re-install the body’s normal immune function in a specific disease organ. The company recently announced that it has started its Phase 2a clinical trial to study the QBKPN SSI investigational treatment in non-small cell lung cancer.
The trial is a single-arm, phase 2a open label and exploratory evaluation to assess the immunological safety, effects, tolerability and compliance of the QBKPN SSI in patients suffering with disease recurrence succeeding surgical resection of non-small cell lung cancer in stage 1. The trial is being conducted at the BC Cancer Agency Research Centre under Dr. Stephen Lam’s orientation. QBKPN SSI derives from specific parts of inactivated bacteria; its purpose is to activate, in the lungs, an immune response against cancer.
Dr. Hal Gunn, the CEO of Qu Biologics, stated in a press release: “We are very pleased to have initiated this important study in lung cancer. SSIs represent a promising new approach to treating cancer by engaging the body’s own immune response.” He added, “Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. We anticipate that this trial will provide the basis for a larger randomized controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of QBKPN SSI in the treatment of late stage lung cancer.”
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In a previous study, an independent group of researchers compared late-stage cancer patients that were treated with SSIs with patients with the same stage and type of cancer that did not receive a treatment with SSIs. They found that patients with late stage lung cancer treated with SSI had a median survival of 15 months longer than those patients not treated with SSI.
This was not a randomized program, hence no final conclusions can be assured regarding SSIs and its efficacy as a therapy. Nevertheless, these results provide a starting point for this study that is now being organized and enrolling participants. The evaluation of the SSI treatment’s effect on late stage cancer patients will be assured and, hopefully, it will bring new hope for NSCLC patients.