HS-310
Current Status: Pre-clinical development

Heat Biologics is currently developing an ImPACT-based drug for the treatment of patients with advanced stage ovarian cancer.  Heat Biologics expects to initiate Phase I clinical trials of HS-510 in late 2012.

About Ovarian Cancer
Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer deaths for women in the United States, accounting for approximately 15,000 deaths each year(Rosenthal et al. 1998). In contrast to other gynecologic malignancies, such as cervical cancer, there is no simple preventative or screening measure that reduces the risk of ovarian cancer or facilitates its detection at an early stage (Daly et al. 1998). Attempts have been made to expand screening for serum levels of CA125, however this marker correlates best with tumor size, is only elevated in 21% of patients with early stage disease and is elevated in approximately 1% of the population, which combine to give the CA125 test a relatively low predictive value(Jacobs et al. 1989). This failure in early detection is illustrated by the fact that 70% of patients with ovarian cancer have disseminated disease at the time of diagnosis (Rosenthal & Jacobs 1998). Despite intensive efforts, there has been little improvement in the survival of patients with advanced ovarian cancer following conventional treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Furthermore, ovarian cancer is comprised of many subtypes that are classified according to the specific cellular origin; epithelial, germ cells or gonadal stroma. Of all ovarian cancers, over 90% are epithelial in origin and over 50% are serous carcinomas. Serous carcinomas are also the most aggressive subtype with a 5-year survival of only 20-35%(Friedlander 1998). The inability of current therapies to treat ovarian serous carcinoma is evidence that unconventional therapies should be developed to improve patient survival.

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