On May 27, 2014 Advaxis reported that it has been granted Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Orphan Products Development (OOPD) for ADXS-cHER2 for the treatment of osteosarcoma (Press release Advaxis, MAY 27, 2014, View Source [SID:1234500551]).
ADXS-cHER2 is an immunotherapy under investigation for targeting the HER2 receptor, which is overexpressed in certain solid-tumor cancers, including bone cancer and breast cancer. Based on strong pre-clinical and canine osteosarcoma clinical data, Advaxis is planning to initiate a clinical development program with ADXS-cHER2 in pediatric patients with osteosarcoma. Pediatric osteosarcoma affects about 400 children and teens in the U.S. every year, representing a small but significant unmet medical need that has seen little therapeutic advancement in decades. Both veterinary and human osteosarcoma specialists consider canine osteosarcoma to be the most analogous disease to human osteosarcoma.