Amgen vaccine produces strong melanoma trial performance

Amgen has presented further results from late-stage trials of its T-Vec cancer vaccine, which has again performed strongly. 

A retrospective analysis of patients with metastatic melanoma who had been injected with T-Vec – also know under its chemical name talimogene laherparepvec – showed a size reduction of 50 percent or more in just under two thirds (64 percent) of injected tumours and one third of uninjected non-visceral tumours.

In addition, 15 percent of visceral tumours were reduced by at least half, while there were 35 melanoma-related surgeries conducted during the course of the trial, of which 30 percent successfully removed all residual disease.

Sean Harper, chief of research and development at Amgen, said: "These data add to the body of evidence supporting [T-Vec's] local and distant effect, and its potential ability to stimulate a systemic anti-tumour immune response."

Tumours are injected directly with the oncolytic immunotherapy, which then replicates until the membrane of the cancer cells rupture and are destroyed.