Vaxil Drug Shows Significant Promise In Myeloma: Vaccine Trains Immune System To Destroy Cancer Cells

Vaxil is a drug that shows great promise in treating multiple myeloma. Vaxil is a vaccine that trains the body to target, fight and destroy myeloma cells. What makes this vaccine different than others in the pipeline is that it can be given to patients who are already sick. In April 2014, mPatient radio interviewed Dr. Michael Shapira about Vaxil, which can be heard here.

An update on Vaxil's progress was published in Breaking News Israel on January 9, 2015 by Ahuva Balofsky:

Israeli biotherapeutic company Vaxil published the results of its recent clinical trials for its therapeutic vaccine to treat cancer patients in the British Journal of Haematologylast month. The trial, which focused on patients with multiple myeloma, showed significant promise.

Israel has long been on the cutting-edge of cancer research, and Vaxil is no exception. It has been working on its cancer treatment, called ImMucin, for over five years now. The therapeutic vaccine — a format which differs from traditional vaccines in that it is given to already sick patients rather than healthy individuals — is designed to train the body’s own immune system to recognize and respond to tumor cells, destroying them and stopping the spread of cancer. It does so by identifying MUC1 markers, present in high concentration in cancer cells, and attacking only cells containing those markers.

ImMucin is not meant to replace chemotherapy or other traditional cancer treatments. Rather, “Vaxil is developing a drug to keep the cancer from coming back,” CFO Julian Levy told NoCamels. “We are trying to harness the natural power of the immune system to fight against cancer by seeking out cancer cells and destroying them.”

The company began its trials with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer, but says MUC1 markers are present in 90% of all cancers, meaning ImMucin should be effective in fighting all of them. In fact, says Dr. Lior Carmon, founder and CEO of Vaxil, tests have already begun on other cancers.