Fighting cancer through immunology.

Making cold tumors "hot."


Yesterday was a show and tell by Inovio's Dr J. Kim and he explained the strategy his company follows in fighting cancerous tumors.


About 86% of cancers use a unique enzyme called hTERT and Inovio can and does produce an antibody against hTERT. So, by injecting and electroporating the DNA sequence that codes for a sensitive part of hTERT, cancerous cells can be killed and removed by the body's killer t cells. But, tumors have defense mechanisms that prevent the t cells from entering the tumor. Such tumors are called "cold tumors." That is why a second DNA sequence is injected that codes for Interlukin 12(IL-12). IL-12 allows the t cells to penetrate the tumor. Such tumors are referred to as "hot tumors."


Using check point inhibitors.


There are other protein compounds that prevent the removal of cells. These compounds are called check points. So, check point inhibitors magnify and speed up the effect of t cells. Studies are planned to combine the generation of t cells with check point inhibitors.


Individual cancer treatments.


Inovio has a wholly owned subsidiary that is tasked to develop cancer treatment on an individual basis. This treatment will analyze an individual's cancer, test for the various factors that control the cancer and develop individual treatment. This will be more expensive than the general treatment.


Reducing the cost of medicine.


The practice of medicine costs money. Most of the medical problems there are belong to one of three types: problems that occur due to infection, problems due to ageing and problems due to cancer. Inovio's expertise deals with the first and third problem. The problem of who pays for treatment is reduced if the costs are reduced. Socialists say they are interested in providing payment for everyone, but what they really want is for government to run medicine. That is the essence of Obamacare. Obamacare must be eliminated, because government burocracy adds to the cost of medicine which is handled by rationing medical care and increasing response time.


Using DNA that codes for a specific antibody.


The advantage of this is that specific antibody can be manufactured by the body almost immediately. Inovio is working on this and it will be most useful to combat infection. I expect this to become another wholly owned subsidiary.


Think of the FDA as a check point.


Its job is to make companies prove efficacy and eliminate drugs that might cause more harm than good. As currently constituted, the FDA review process is too costly and too expensive. It also takes a lot of time. But you do not want to abolish it either. It is a delicate dance between providing safety and ensuring progress. It is a difficult task.