OncBioMune Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCQB: OBMP) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development of novel cancer immunotherapy products. The company’s lead product candidate, ProscaVax™, is a novel prostate cancer vaccine that’s scheduled to commence a phase II clinical trial in the coming weeks after recording promising results in its phase I clinical trial, which was completed late last year.
Unlike many leading treatment options, ProscaVax is being developed to treat prostate cancer in its early stages, allowing patients to build up an immunity that helps their bodies combat the disease with little or no toxicity. OncBioMune’s revolutionary technology introduces molecules known as antigens into the body in order to stimulate an aggressive immune response before the cancer becomes too advanced. In its phase I clinical trial of ProscaVax, an impressive 70 percent of patients who received three vaccines demonstrated increased immune response to prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a protein produced by cells of the prostate gland that can aid in the early detection of prostate cancer. This result, in addition to the candidate’s exemplary safety profile, bodes well for ProscaVax moving forward.
Leveraging a proprietary vaccine technology designed to boost the immune system’s natural ability to protect the body, ProscaVax is expected to be marketable and extremely profitable upon FDA approval, potentially becoming the standard of care for prostate cancer treatment. According to data from the American Cancer Society, about 220,800 new cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed in the United States last year. In total, the disease accounts for more than 27,500 deaths each year, making it the second leading cause of cancer death in American men.
Despite its prevalence, prostate cancer remains one of the most survivable forms of cancer, with a 10-year survival rate of roughly 98 percent in cases discovered in the local or regional stages. However, survivability is greatly impacted if the disease goes undetected into an advanced stage. In cases where prostate cancer has spread to bones, organs or distant lymph nodes, the five-year survival rate drops from nearly 100 percent to just 28 percent, according to ZERO. This statistic further highlights the potential benefit of ProscaVax, particularly in early stage prostate cancer cases.
Leading market research firm BCC Research valued the global market for the prevention and treatment of prostate cancer at $26.1 billion in 2011, and the firm forecasts the market to surpass $50 billion by next year. This growth will be led by the drug therapeutics sector, which is expected to sustain an 18 percent compound annual growth rate through 2017. As OncBioMune prepares to commence its phase II clinical trial of ProscaVax, this market performance could foreshadow an opportunity for the company to achieve strong financial growth following FDA approval and commercialization of its innovative treatment option.
Through an agreement with Lincoln Park Capital Fund, OncBioMune has secured $10 million in funding with which to help finance the upcoming phase II clinical study of ProscaVax. This strong cash position, along with the early promise of the company’s cancer vaccine technologies, makes OncBioMune an attractive play in the rapidly evolving oncology space.
For more information, visit www.oncbiomune.com
