First canine patient receives Vetigenics’ fully canine anti-CTLA4 monoclonal antibody for oral melanoma
Source: PR News Wire, November 2023
Two fully funded pilot studies to treat cancer free for pet owners who bring their dogs to research sites.
PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Vetigenics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company advancing antibody-based therapies for pets, announces that the first canine patient with stage 4 oral melanoma has received his first dose of Vetigenics’ fully canine anti-CTLA4 monoclonal antibody (VGS-001) following standard of care radiation therapy.
The anti-CTLA4 monoclonal antibody is derived from Vetigenics’ proprietary fully canine single chain variable fragment phage display library, created by Vetigenics co-founder Don Siegel, PhD, MD. It is being combined with focal radiation therapy in a protocol that aims to take advantage of the immunogenic effects of radiation combined with the immune-activating effects of the antibody. This combination has shown success in mouse models and in human cancer patients and sees Vetigenics well-positioned to bring veterinary cancer immunotherapies in line with human approaches.