Genzyme Molecular Oncology announced that the U.S. Patent Office has issued Patent No. 6,528,060 covering a novel peptide with potential application in the treatment of breast and ovarian cancers.

The discovery was made by Charles Nicolette, director of antigen discovery for Genzyme Molecular Oncology, using the patented SPHERE (Solid PHase Epitope REcovery) screening technology.

"This novel peptide is significant because it could provide the basis for an active immunotherapy that uses T-cells to attack and destroy cancer cells that overexpress the HER-2 antigen," stated Gail Maderis, president of Genzyme Molecular Oncology. "The clinical utility of HER-2 as a molecular target is already demonstrated."

A passive immunotherapy approach that uses an antibody against HER-2 is on the market for the treatment of certain patients with metastatic breast cancer.

The peptide was discovered by Genzyme Molecular Oncology after an uncharacterized T-cell clone was isolated from an ovarian tumor and run through the SPHERE screen where approximately 50 million peptides were screened for those that could potently activate the clone. These SPHERE peptides have been shown in preclinical experiments to be one thousand to one million times more active than native peptides in stimulating human T-cells in vitro. This could provide great opportunity in drug development and, ultimately, commercialization of a patient treatment.

"We have found that this class of peptides can trigger a more powerful immune response in vitro than the native antigen," stated Nicolette. "This discovery provides for the potential development of a cancer vaccine directed at the HER-2 antigen, known to be an important tumor antigen in multiple cancer indications."

The patent covers the peptide's amino acid sequence. A continuation application also has been filed to pursue additional claims.