Biotech company Orbis Health Solutions was approved to begin a phase 3 clinical trial of its melanoma vaccine, ABC News reported Jan. 20.
The tumor lysate particle only cancer vaccine was tested in 187 patients in the phase 2 clinical trial. Nearly 95% of patients given only the vaccine were alive three years after starting treatment, and 64% were still disease-free.
Among stage 3 melanoma patients, 60% in the vaccine-only group were disease-free after three years, compared with 39% in the placebo group. Stage 4 melanoma patients had even higher disease-free survival at 68%.
The most common side effects were redness or pain at the injection site, and fever and fatigue after injection.
The phase 3 clinical trial is set to begin this year, Riley Polk, president of Orbis Health Solutions, told ABC affiliate WLOS. It will include 500 people and span three years.