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ABOUT VICINIUM ™ Vicinium™ is an investigational medication that is being used to treat non-invasive transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. Vicinium™ is a protein therapeutic that has been designed to target a molecule called EpCAM that resides on the surface of transitional carcinoma cells. Vicinium™ is being developed as a local therapy for the treatment of bladder cancer by intravesical instillation. Once inside the bladder, Vicinium™ attaches to the EpCAM molecule on the surface of the cancer cell, and enters the cell, thereby activating the drug, which is then able to kill the cancerous cell. |
Vicinium™ has been tested in a variety of clinical and preclinical studies and has demonstrated therapeutic potential in various cellular and animal models of cancer, including animal models of lung and head and neck cancer. In animal studies, the active component of Vicinium™ has been shown to induce significant tumour regression for many well established tumours, and has even generated complete tumour responses in several animals. Vicinium™ has
not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or other
country health authorities. A North American Phase II study
is now underway to further evaluate the efficacy and tolerability
of Vicinium™. Transitional cell carcinoma - A type of cancer that develops in the lining of the bladder, ureter, or renal pelvis (the part of the kidney that collects, holds, and drains urine). EpCAM – (Epithelial cell adhesion molecule). EpCAM helps epithelial cells to bind together, and has limited expression on normal, healthy epithelia. Conversely, EpCAM is highly expressed on transitional cell carcinomas of the bladder. Preclinical studies– A preclinical study evaluates a drug's toxic and pharmacologic effects through laboratory animal testing in vitro (experimentation done in a test tube or in a controlled environment outside a living organism) and in vivo (experimentation done in or on the living tissue of an organism). |
