Vaxco Story
In 2007, after nearly two decades of research, Raj Sadasivan, M.D., Ph.D., founded Vaxco Pharmaceuticals after his groundbreaking discovery in vaccine therapies. In 1996, as a clinical Oncologist with a Ph.D. in Immunology and Cell Biology and a B.A. in Chemistry and frustrated with the relatively ineffective treatments available for advanced diseases, Dr. Sadasivan was naturally drawn to the idea of cancer vaccination, a new development in cancer research. With his highly unique education and experience (clinical oncology, immunology, cell biology, and chemistry) he discovered what other researchers and physicians had been unable to find.
Researchers knew that cancer patients had intact immune systems. Researchers also realized that many tumors expressed specific protein markers similar to those in other commonly vaccinated diseases. It was thought that these protein markers could be used to elicit an immune response in cancer patients, but researchers missed an important link in the complex physiology of the immune system. To this day investigators struggle with how to alert the immune system with tumor specific antigens.
Using advanced computer software, Dr. Sadasivan identified a key strand of amino acids. This strand of amino acids was not only tumor specific, but when properly presented to the immune system was capable of eliciting an immune response to cancer cells. This was revolutionary and the pioneering work for HCI001, a vaccine against metastatic melanoma. Dr. Sadasivan tested HCI001 using a mouse model and was excited to find that his vaccine destroyed all metastatic melanoma tumors in 95% of his specimens. Currently HCI001 is the only known cancer vaccine to elicit such a response.
The knowledge of this novel vaccine presented Dr. Sadasivan with a great challenge: to bring the vaccine from his laboratories to his patients. Since founding Vaxco Pharmaceuticals that challenge has been met with great success. Having submitted an Investigational New Drug Application (IND) with the FDA and planning a Phase I/II clinical trial, Dr. Sadasivan had the spectacular opportunity through Vaxco Pharmaceuticals to successfully treat the first patient with the vaccine. The patient responded very well to the vaccine with little sign of disease after only one round of treatment. A great deal of knowledge has been gained since the initiation of treatment.
The discovery of HCI001 has led Vaxco Pharmaceuticals on an exciting and uncharted journey of discovery. Research suggests that the basic science behind the vaccine can be applied to many other tumor types including lung cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer and breast cancer. With every discovery the challenges become greater, and through the work of its innovative and forward thinking team, Vaxco Pharmaceuticals is positioned to meet these challenges and more.
To read a letter from our CEO, click here.