PROSTVAC(TM) Data Presented at the ASCO Meeting Demonstrates the Potential for Significant Increases in Life Expectancy in Late-Stage Prost...( KVISTGAARD Denmark June 1 /- Deta...)

KVISTGAARD, Denmark, June 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Detailed data from a randomized Phase 2 study with PROSTVAC(TM) were presented Saturday at the ASCO Annual Meeting in Orlando. The presentation was made by Philip Kantoff MD, Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute who is also the principal investigator of the study.

The more detailed analysis supports the headline data that were reported in October 2008. In the Phase 2 prospective randomized placebo-controlled study of 125 patients with advanced prostate cancer, patients in the PROSTVAC(TM) group had a significantly longer median overall survival by 8.5 months compared to the control group. The hazard ratio estimate for overall survival from the study is 0.56 (95% CI 0.37-0.85).

The statistical significance in the final data set is (p=0.006).

There were no major clinically meaningful imbalances in baseline characteristics in the PROSTVAC(TM) and control vector treated arms.

PROSTVAC(TM) immunotherapy was well tolerated, with some patients having injection site reactions (40-60%), and systemic symptoms of fatigue, fevers, and chills (10-30%) reported.

PROSTVAC(TM) is an 'off-the-shelf' viral vector-based immunotherapy, utilizing pox virus vectors that express PSA and three T cell costimulatory molecules are administered subcutaneously.

An abstract from Professor Kantoff's presentation is now available on ASCO's website:

   http://www.abstract.asco.org/AbstView_65_33254.html

    Slides from the presentation will be available within one week at:

   http://www.asco.org/ASCOv2/MultiMedia/Virtual+Meeting

Philip Kantoff MD, Professor of Medicine, Harvard
'/>"/>