JTCC Leading Enrollment for WIZARD Study Evaluating DSP-7888 in Recurrent Glioblastoma

John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center announced today that it is leading enrollment worldwide for WIZARD 201G, a global Phase 2 study in glioblastoma (GBM). The trial, sponsored by Boston Biomedical, is evaluating DSP-7888, an investigational cancer vaccine, in combination with bevacizumab for recurrent disease.

Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive primary brain tumor with a dismal 5-10% survival rate at 5 years from diagnosis. Recurrence following standard chemotherapy and radiation is near universal, and most patients succumb to their disease within 6 months to follow. Despite decades of research, therapeutic options at recurrence are limited.

DSP-7888, being developed by Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Boston Biomedical, Inc., is hypothesized to induce Wilms' tumor gene 1 (WT1)-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes and helper T cells to attack WT1-expressing cancer cells found in various cancers. WT1 has been a focus of cancer vaccine research since the National Cancer Institute ranked it the number one priority target for cancer immunotherapy.

"The success of immunotherapy has been practice changing across the field of oncology, from lung cancer to Hodgkin's disease," said Samuel A. Goldlust, M.D., lead investigator and Medical Director of neuro-oncology at John Theurer Cancer Center. "It's long overdue to translate the same success to our patients with GBM."

In the multicenter, global Phase 2 WIZARD 201G study, patients receive either DSP-7888 in combination with bevacizumab or bevacizumab alone. The primary objectives of the study are to determine the safety and tolerability of DSP-7888 as well as overall survival. The trial is expected to enroll approximately 200 patients and is being conducted at sites in the United States, Canada, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

To learn more about this trial (NCT number: NCT03149003) and for a list of trial locations, contact the study research staff using the contacts provided on www.ClinicalTrials.gov.

John Theurer Cancer Center has more than 350 ongoing clinical trials conducted independently and in partnership with research and pharmaceutical companies, research consortiums, patient advocacy groups, and the National Institutes of Health. Participating in a clinical trial allows patients to be among the first in the world to access potentially lifesaving therapies.

For general information about clinical trials at John Theurer Cancer Center, visit www.jtcancercenter.org or call 551-996-5834.