A 67-year-old UK man who says he is “open to trying new things” was the first to receive a new lung cancer vaccine in an international clinical trial launched last week.
Lung cancer patient Janusz Racz was dosed with the “BNT116” mRNA jab developed by BioNTech SE ADR (NASDAQ: BNTX). He received the injection at University College London’s (UCL) hospital in the British capital. Racz was diagnosed with the disease in May.
“BNT116 is a mRNA cancer vaccine candidate encoding six shared antigens frequently expressed in non-small cell lung cancer [‘NSCLC’],” BioNTech described on its website, “aiming to trigger a strong and precise immune response in patients with this tumour type.”
This new phase 1 study will involve 130 patients, across 34 research sites, throughout seven countries. Experts think this vaccine could be a game-changer for lung cancer treatment.
This optimism among health professionals is particularly important when considering that lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer-related deaths globally. Without “Operation Warp Speed” and its rapid development of the COVID vaccine, this research wouldn’t have been possible.
“This technology is the next big phase of cancer treatment,” Siow Ming Lee, a medical oncology professor at UCL, said. He is leading the study in the UK.
Unlike the coronavirus vaccine, which generally requires two doses, this new lung cancer vaccine requires multiple. Racz will be dosed every week for the next six weeks followed by additional injections.
First ever lung cancer vaccine trial launched across 34 research sites in 7 countries, relying on mRNA technology.
History will remember Operation Warp Speed as leading to one of the great biomedical breakthroughs in history. pic.twitter.com/MbccGbagHe
— Richard Hanania (@RichardHanania) August 25, 2024
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Over 20,000 Canadians expected to die from lung cancer in 2024
Lung Cancer Canada says the total number of fatalities nationwide this year will exceed breast, colon and prostate cancers combined.
In fact, lung cancer accounts for one in four deaths among Canadians, according to the Canadian Lung Association.
However, young people are much less likely to be diagnosed with the disease than people over the age of 50. They, the latter, account for about 98 per cent of cases domestically.
rowan@mugglehead.com
