Cancer Vaccine Collaborative
The Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Ltd (LICR) and the Cancer Research Institute (CRI) (New York, USA) joined forces in 2001 to form the Cancer Vaccine Collaborative (CVC). Therapeutic cancer vaccines represent an entirely new therapeutic modality with great promise for helping to reduce tumor recurrence. By working together within the CVC, LICR and CRI investigators are able to best achieve their common objectives of understanding the immunological response to cancer, harnessing that knowledge for patient benefit, and accelerating the translation of basic research into new cancer therapies.
The CVC provides an international clinical trial infrastructure (the LICR Office of Clinical Trials Management) to help investigators navigate the complex challenges of translating their laboratory findings into the clinic. These activities include the writing and filing of complex regulatory documentation, obtaining or manufacturing clinic-grade reagents, procuring funding for patient costs, meeting insurance requirements, and fulfilling stringent clinical trial monitoring requirements. The CVC also supports the associated laboratory experiments that enable the investigator to understand the mechanism of the tested therapy; research that goes beyond the primary or secondary endpoints of the typical clinical trial.
Since its inception, the CVC has completed or is currently conducting 35 clinical trials. These trials have enrolled nearly 700 patients with a variety of cancer types, including melanoma and sarcoma, and ovarian, prostate, lung, breast, esophageal, and bladder cancers. With the progression of several of these studies into Phase II and III trials, the CVC has become a leading force in the development of therapeutic cancer vaccines as a real option for cancer patients.
