Scancell Holdings Plc, (AIM: SCLP), the developer of therapeutic cancer vaccines which was admitted to trading on AIM on 30 July 2010, today announces that Dr Richard Goodfellow has been appointed to the role of Chief Operating Officer. Dr Goodfellow has been a key member of the Company’s management team and a member of the Board since 1999 and was previously Commercial Director of the Company.
David Evans, Chairman of Scancell, said:
“I am very pleased to announce Richard's appointment to the position of Chief Operating Officer. Scancell will continue to benefit from the skills and experience that Richard brings to the Company as it moves forward to achieve its stated objectives.”
For further information contact:
Professor Lindy Durrant - Scancell Holdings Plc
+44 (0)207 245 1100
John Bick/Kirsty Corcoran - Hansard Communications
+44 (0)207 245 1100
Ross Andrews - Zeus Capital
+44 (0)161 831 1512
About Scancell
Scancell is developing novel therapeutic vaccines for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases based on its groundbreaking ImmunoBody® technology platform. Scancell’s first cancer vaccine SCIB1 is being developed for the treatment of melanoma and is expected to enter clinical trials in 2010.
Treating cancer by vaccination allows small non-toxic doses of a vaccine to be administered to a patient, stimulating an immune response. Effective cancer vaccines need to target dendritic cells to stimulate both parts of the cellular immune system; the helper cell system where inflammation is stimulated at the tumour site; and the cytotoxic T-lymphocyte or CTL response where immune system cells are primed to recognise and kill specific cells.
A limitation of many cancer vaccines currently in development is that they cannot specifically target dendritic cells in vivo. Several groups have demonstrated successful vaccination by growing dendritic cells ex vivo, pulsing them with tumour antigens and re-infusing them. However, this procedure is patient specific, time consuming and expensive. Scancell has developed its breakthrough patent protected ImmunoBody® technology to overcome these limitations.
An ImmunoBody® is a human antibody or fusion protein engineered to express helper cell and CTL epitopes from tumour antigens over-expressed by cancer cells. Antibodies are ideal vectors for carrying T cell epitopes from tumour antigens as they have long half-lives and can effectively target dendritic cells via their Fc receptors, allowing efficient stimulation of both helper and CTL responses.
The Immunobody® technology can be adapted to provide the basis for treating any tumour type and may also be of potential utility in the development of vaccines against hepatitis, HIV and other chronic infectious diseases.