Amphera BV

Amphera B.V., a late clinical stage biotechnology company, develops MesoPher cell therapy for the treatment of cancer. Our lead indications are mesothelioma and pancreatic cancer.

MesoPher is comprised of autologous dendritic cells loaded with our proprietary allogeneic tumour cell lysate PheraLys. PheraLys is a well-characterised, innovative source of a broad-spectrum of Tumour Associated Antigens. Several clinical studies with our lead product candidate MesoPher are ongoing.

The  results of MesoPher cell therapy in resected pancreatic cancer are published in one of the world’s leading scientific journals, the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

The phase II trial (REACTIVE) met the primary endpoint with topline safety and efficacy data from 38 patients demonstrating a statistically significant 2-year recurrence-free survival of 64%. This is a 50% increase compared to best available treatment.

The promising nature of these results is demonstrated by several independent appraisals:

1. Firstly, pancreatic cancer expert dr Eileen M. O'Reilly MD of MSKCC and JCO Associate Editor commented in the relevance section on our JCO article: “This trial adds to the increasing body of evidence that immune-based therapies in resected pancreas cancer, using a variety of different strategies, may not only induce a potent immune response but also can induce an early oncologic signal worthy of further evaluation.”
2. Secondly, in a highly positive JCO Editorial on our article, dr Ashwin Somasundaram, MD and dr Jen Jen Yeh, MD commented that “These promising data support further exploration and development of DC vaccines as additional adjuvant therapy in patients with resected pancreatic adenocarcinoma.”
3. And last but not least, EMA & FDA have granted MesoPher cell therapy Orphan Designation for pancreatic cancer based on these results.

Our next step is to generate randomized clinical data in pancreatic cancer. To this end, an investment of 12,5 million euro is needed for a clinical phase II trial.  

We are happy to announce that the Dutch Pancreatic Cancer Group (DPCG), one of the world’s leading research groups in this field, has committed to participate in this trial.

Our latest – very good - news: Dutch Cancer Society KWF has granted a subsidy of 4 million euro for our next clinical trial in PDAC.