Immunicom Continues Successful Immunopheresis® Clinical Trial in Advanced, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treatment with Acibadem University

Investigational Clinical Trial Evaluates Breakthrough Blood-filtering Column as Combination Therapy with Roche’s Checkpoint Inhibitor

SAN DIEGO & ISTANBUL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--#biotech--Immunicom, Inc., a clinical stage biotech pioneering non-pharmaceutical immunotherapies, progresses with its cancer clinical trial to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of Immunopheresis^® in partnership with Acibadem University conducted in Acibadem Healthcare Group hospitals. This multi-arm study has been recruiting patients since October 2020 and evaluates Immunicom’s oncology platform for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in combination with Roche’s pharmaceutical checkpoint inhibitor, Tecentriq^® (atezolizumab). This is Immunicom’s third clinical trial assessing Immunopheresis for solid cancers.

The Immunopheresis therapy employs Immunicom’s lead product, the proprietary LW-02 subtractive column, to remove targeted immune-suppressive cytokines that block the natural immune response to attack malignant tumors. Immunopheresis is intended to treat cancer while avoiding the typical side-effects, toxicity, and negative impacts on quality of life that are frequently associated with other cancer treatments.

Immunicom’s LW-02 column has received U.S. FDA Breakthrough Device designation for stage IV metastatic cancer and has received European regulatory clearance (CE Mark certification) for use in adults with advanced, refractory, triple negative breast cancer (TNBC).

“Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world and the most prevalent cancer in Turkey. Currently available therapies for lung cancer are commonly associated with serious side-effects and often patient’s tumors become resistant to even the newer immunotherapies. Moreover, the presently available immunotherapies are prohibitively expensive which precludes this option for many patients,” said Ahmet Şahin, MD., Prof., Chairman of the Medical Executive Board of Acibadem Healthcare Group. “We are highly optimistic that Immunicom’s Immunopheresis therapy will provide physicians with a novel breakthrough cancer immunotherapy that should be markedly better tolerated, improve patient’s quality of life, and its cost-effectiveness will make it widely available to many patients who might otherwise not be able to benefit from an immunotherapy.”

The multicenter, multi-arm clinical study led by Gökhan Demir, MD, Prof., Acibadem University School of Medicine, Department of Internal Diseases Medical Oncology who serves as the Principal Investigator, and conducted by Mustafa Bozkurt, MD tests the clinical effectiveness of the LW-02 Immunopheresis column to treat stage IIIB/IV non-small cell lung cancer patients whose disease has progressed after at least one first-line chemotherapy round of treatment. The clinical study is divided into three treatment arms, each with the LW-02 column; the first in combination with Tecentriq^® (atezolizumab), the second in combination with Taxol^® (paclitaxel), and the third with Immunopheresis as a monotherapy for patients who have disease progression after a second-line of chemotherapy treatment.

“With this clinical trial, Immunicom and Acibadem are centered on demonstrating the effectiveness of Immunicom’s Immunopheresis therapy for treating patients facing a highly aggressive form of non-small cell lung cancer. This important study assesses Immunopheresis in combination with both Roche’s Tecentriq, one of the world’s leading PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy drugs, and with paclitaxel, a very commonly used chemotherapy agent,” said Amir Jafri, Founder and CEO of Immunicom, Inc.

“We have developed Immunopheresis intending that it could be used with many different oncology regimens and the growing array of promising immunotherapy drugs, while keeping in the forefront our mission of preserving patients’ quality of life to ensure that they can fight cancer in a compassionate and dignified way. We are confident that our breakthrough Immunopheresis technology will provide patients the benefits associated with upregulation of their immune system to attack resistant cancers. Immunicom’s motto of ‘Healing Reimagined,’ reflects our mission to improve quality-of-life for all patients in a meaningful way and expedite their path to a healthy recovery,” continued Mr. Jafri.

For an overview of how this breakthrough technology works, visit https://www.immunicom.com/how-it-works. Immunopheresis is an investigational therapy that has not yet been approved for use by the FDA.

About Acibadem University

Acibadem University was founded in 2007 dedicated to the field of health sciences.
By using dynamic and contemporary educational programs, a strong academic teaching team trains healthcare students to be future healthcare professionals who continually research innovations in all fields of medical science. With the mission of being a strongly research oriented university, the research laboratories are fitted out with the latest state of the art equipment, designed to complement the life sciences and biotechnology fields.
The Clinical Simulation and Advanced Endoscopic - Robotic Surgery Training Center - CASE is one of the most comprehensive medical training centers in the world with its accommodation of multiple departments and advanced technological infrastructure. CASE received the “Center of Excellence” certificate awarded by the CAE Academy to only two medical training centers worldwide. The Center is accredited by the Network of Accredited Clinical Skills Centers of Europe (NASCE) and the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH), providing pre- and post-graduate training.
Acibadem University offers its students the opportunity to study abroad at esteemed partner universities under the Erasmus Programme having bilateral agreements with Europe’s most notable universities. With 100,000 square meters of in-closed area centrally located on the Asian side of Istanbul, the Kerem Aydınlar Campus is replete with high-technology equipment and offers students a privileged university life.

About Acibadem Healthcare Group

Acibadem Healthcare Group, a world brand in health sector, offers services in 21 hospitals and 13 medical centers in 4 countries, namely, Macedonia, Bulgaria and The Netherlands, besides Turkey. In addition to hospitals and medical centers, Acibadem represents Turkey as a trustworthy health brand in all over the world, with its 36 representative offices called Health Points, which are located in 22 countries and 36 cities. Acibadem brand is associated with highest standards of care and technology in the region. Today the group has reached a total capacity of 3,164 beds and 141 operating theaters with 22 thousand employees, including 4,000 physicians and 4,200 nurses working under its roof. Acibadem’s rapid growth led to the signing of a partnership with IHH Healthcare Berhad, Asia’s largest healthcare chain, in 2012 which enabled us to be a part of world’s second largest healthcare company globally by its market capitalization.

About Immunicom

Immunicom, Inc. creates novel immunotherapies designed to treat a variety of diseases using its breakthrough Immunopheresis^® technology platform. The privately held medical technology company develops innovative, non-pharmaceutical approaches for treating cancer, autoimmune disease, and inflammatory and renal diseases. Immunicom’s revolutionary blood-filtering Immunopheresis technology has the potential to effectively treat a wide variety of cancer types, including those that have not responded to other treatment strategies, with possibly fewer side effects. Immunicom’s lead product, the LW-02 column, has received U.S. FDA Breakthrough Device designation for stage IV metastatic cancer and European regulatory clearance (CE Mark Certification) for use in adults with advanced, refractory, triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). Immunopheresis is currently being evaluated in several global oncology trials for multiple cancers. Immunicom is headquartered in San Diego, California with operations in Houston, Texas, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Krakow, Poland.

Stephen Prince
publicrelations@immunicom.com
657-202-6040