Therapeutic lung cancer vaccine registered in Belarus
The therapeutic vaccine CIMAvax against cancer (CIMAvax-EGF) has been registered in the Republic of Belarus – as reported by the Belarusian Healthcare Ministry in its official Telegram channel. The vaccine was developed and produced by Cuba’s Centre for Molecular Immunology and has been available to the Cuban population since 2011.
CIMAvax-EGF is a therapeutic vaccine against metastatic lung cancer, which in some cases can increase the survival rate of patients at a late stage of the disease. It induces an immune response of specific antibodies that recognise EGF and inhibit its binding to membrane receptors, avoiding the initiation of proliferation mechanisms. CIMAvax-EGF consists of recombinant human epidermal growth factor (EGF) conjugated to a protein carrier.
The vaccine is being tested in clinical trials in Europe, the US, and Japan. More than 6,000 patients worldwide who have been diagnosed with lung cancer have already received treatment with this drug. It is currently registered in Cuba, Colombia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Peru and Paraguay.
CIMAvax-EGF is the first and only vaccine registered in the Republic of Belarus for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer. This drug is indicated for maintenance therapy in patients with late-stage non-small cell lung cancer (IIIb/IV) after first-line chemotherapy and with a high concentration of epidermal growth factor in blood serum.
