Northwest Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: NWBO) ("NW Bio"), a biotechnology company developing non-toxic DCVax® personalized immune therapies for solid tumor cancers, announced today that the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) TV network has broadcast a report profiling the first European patient in the Company's Phase III clinical trial of DCVax-L for Glioblastoma multiforme brain cancer (GBM), the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer. This patient was operated on in June, 2013, by Dr. Keyoumars Ashkan, a senior neurosurgeon at Kings College Hospital and the lead investigator for the trial in the U.K., to remove his brain tumor and enable him to enter the DCVax-L trial.
The BBC report can be seen at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25499045. The BBC report notes that immune therapies are emerging as one of the most important areas in cancer research, and that the Phase III trial of DCVax-L for GBM is one of the most advanced involving personalized immune therapies. The profiled patient is well known British Shakespearean actor Robert Demeger, who has appeared regularly on the stage and in the popular TV series Doctor Who. A further interview of Mr. Demeger can also be found on the BBC website (see "Related Videos" at the same link), in which Mr. Demeger describes in more detail his own condition and circumstances.
As noted by Dr. Ashkan in the BBC report, there is substantial variation among patients with the "same" GBM brain cancer. One-size-fits-all treatments cannot address this patient-to-patient variation. Personalized treatments are needed in order to address the variability. As described in the BBC report, DCVax-L is a personalized treatment made from the patient's own immune cells (dendritic cells) and biomarkers from the patient's own tumor.
After reviewing and evaluating the DCVax-L technology and the current international Phase III clinical trial of DCVax-L for GBM, the National Health System (NIHR) "adopted" this trial as a nationwide priority in the UK, singling it out for additional resources and attention, as previously reported by the Company.
"We appreciate the BBC highlighting the importance of the emerging category of immune therapies for cancer and profiling our advanced clinical trial, thereby helping to bring this information to the attention of patients" commented Linda Powers, CEO of NW Bio. "Patients are urgently seeking new and better treatment options, but often have difficulty finding out about innovative new technologies such as DCVax-L. The BBC's report will help many patients become aware of these potential new treatment options."
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