Argentina Develops Therapeutic Vaccine To Combat Lung Cancer
Argentina Develops Therapeutic Vaccine To Combat Lung Cancer
Published on 2013-06-04 22:16:39CLARIN
Racotumomab, set to be available in several countries, can work with other therapies by activating the immune system to help reverse one of the deadliest forms of cancer.
By Valeria Roman
CLARIN/Worldcrunch
BUENOS AIRES – Argentine writer Julio Cortazar once wrote: “Hope belongs to life, it is life defending itself.” This sentiment accompanies news of the first therapeutic vaccine against advanced lung cancer available to patients, which was discovered by an Argentine research team.
Indeed, Argentina will be the first country where the vaccine, called “Racotumomab,” will be available starting in July after it was approved by Argentina’s National Administration of Medicines, Food and Medical Technology (ANMAT).
The vaccine does not prevent lung cancer. It is meant as a complement to conventional therapies such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy, and helps combat the cancer by activating the body’s immune system. As such, it will help treat one of the toughest cancers, which causes 9,000 deaths per year in Argentina alone. It was designed and developed in Argentina with the participation of Cuban researchers over the past 18 years.
“When we started researching, our goal was to develop biological therapies that use the body’s immune system to fight cancer. We thought the product would be ready in five years, but it was much more difficult than we imagined. Still, we continued on. When we look back today, we can see it’s been a long road,” said Silvia Gold, co-head of the Grupo Insud, the consortium that developed the vaccine.
More:
http://www.worldcrunch.com/rss/tech-science/argentina-develops-therapeutic-vaccine-to-combat-lung-cancer/lung-cancer-vaccine-argentina-cuba-clinical-trials/c4s12184/
= new reply since forum marked as read
