PROKARIUM
Prokarium, a biopharmaceutical company pioneering the oncology field of microbial immunotherapy, announced today it exercised its option with Lausanne University Hospital (Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois — CHUV) for an exclusive, worldwide license for the use of Salmonella immunotherapy in the treatment of bladder cancer.
“This intellectual property is an important milestone for our lead oncology program as it enters clinical development in 2023 and also lays the groundwork for expanding Salmonella immunotherapy into other solid tumors,” said Livija Deban, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of Prokarium. “Microbial immunotherapy is the gold standard-of-care in the treatment of bladder cancer. However, high recurrence rates and limited treatment options are currently available for patients. Prokarium is introducing a differentiated, efficacious microbial immunotherapy to a market that has seen little disruption in over 30 years.”
In exchange for the exclusive license, Prokarium will make an upfront payment, as well as additional payments upon achievement of development and commercialization milestones, and, if any product is approved, will pay royalties on net sales.
“Since initiating our collaboration with Prokarium in 2019, our team at the Department of Urology at CHUV has generated a robust preclinical data package demonstrating that Prokarium’s proprietary Salmonella bacteria generates quantitatively and qualitatively superior immune responses with different kinetics compared to the standard-of-care,” said Dr Denise Nardelli-Haefliger, Head of the Urology Research Unit. “Together with Prof Patrice Jichlinski, Prof Beat Roth, Dr Ilaria Lucca and Dr Sonia Domingos-Pereira, we are thrilled to see that the results of our collaboration have the potential to expand the disease-free interval and improve quality of life in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC).”
About Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer (NMIBC)
Bladder cancer represents 5% of all new cancer cases in the US and accounts for 550,000 new cases yearly worldwide. The clinical staging is determined by the depth of invasion into the bladder wall. More than 70% of cases are diagnosed at an early stage, also known as non-muscle invasive bladder Cancer (NMIBC). Despite early diagnosis, the only approved therapies are Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), which often faces shortages, and chemotherapy, both delivered intravesically. Because of its high incidence and the limited number of treatment options, a huge unmet medical need remains in NMIBC.
About the Lausanne University Hospital - CHUV
The CHUV, Lausanne University Hospital, is one of the five university hospitals in Switzerland. With its 16 clinical and medico-technical departments and their numerous services, the CHUV is renowned for its academic achievements in health care, research, and teaching. The CHUV is also a well-known center of medical education and research thanks to its collaboration with the Faculty of Biology and Medicine of the University of Lausanne and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). The CHUV has been recognized as one of the World’s 10 best hospitals according to the 2021 ranking of Newsweek magazine. It is with enthusiasm, that the Chairman of the Department of Urology, Prof Beat Roth, will pursue and support the research and studies with this novel treatment for bladder cancer.
About Prokarium
Prokarium is a biopharmaceutical company pioneering the field of microbial immunotherapy. Our pipeline is designed to unlock the next level of immuno-oncology by building on the most recent advances in cancer immunology. Prokarium’s lead program is focused on transforming the treatment paradigm in bladder cancer by orchestrating immune-driven, long-lasting antitumor effects. Prokarium is based in London, UK. For further information, visit https://www.prokarium.com
.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220302005063/en/
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Université Paris-Saclay and Owkin: A Unique Alliance to Propel University Medical Research to the Top of the European Rankings Through AI20.11.2025 15:17:00 CET | Press release
Université Paris-Saclay and Owkin announce the signing of a memorandum of understanding to explore the potential of K Pro Free - Owkin’s AI co-pilot for biology - for use by Paris-Saclay. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251120130113/en/ K Pro Free will now be available to the entire Université Paris-Saclay community, and in particular teachers, researchers and doctoral students working in the biomedical sciences. The partnership includes workshops, training sessions and events designed to promote the discovery and adoption of K Pro Free, as well as the co-organization of communication and dissemination initiatives around the use of AI in health. In this way, the partnership will promote user training, but also enrich and continuously improve the co-pilot's models through feedback and use cases from the l’Université Paris-Saclay community. This partnership is part of Université Paris-Saclay’s strategy to integr
Frasca Advances Flight Training Technology with New Visual System Powered by Unreal Engine20.11.2025 15:05:00 CET | Press release
Frasca International, Inc., a FlightSafety International company and leader in flight simulation, today announced the launch of VITAL FVS 100, the next evolution of its visual system technology. Building on the proven TruVision Global platform, VITAL FVS 100 was developed using Epic Games’ Unreal Engine and delivers unprecedented realism, scalability, and innovation in pilot training. The Unreal-powered VITAL FVS 100 system introduces major advancements in visual fidelity and training realism, further enhancing the capabilities of Frasca, a leading developer of flight simulators and training devices. The new system includes physically based renderings, advanced lighting effects, and a new volumetric cloud model that creates dynamic, weather-rich environments. Terrain imagery now includes one-meter resolution coverage for the contiguous United States and Hawaii, with expanded global datasets covering European buildings and tree covered regions. Additionally, enhanced particle effects re
GigaOm Radar for Vector Databases v3 Positions Vespa.ai as a Leader and Outperformer20.11.2025 15:00:00 CET | Press release
Vespa Recognized for Integrated Ranking, Multimodal Search, and Production-Scale AI Performance Vespa.ai, the creator of the AI Search Platform for building and deploying large-scale, real-time AI applications powered by big data, today announced its recognition as a Leader and Outperformer in the GigaOm Radar for Vector Databases v3, marking the company’s third consecutive year being evaluated in GigaOm’s vector database research. Now in its third edition, the report compares 17 leading open source and commercial solutions using GigaOm’s structured evaluation framework. In addition to core table-stakes capabilities, the Radar reviews each vendor’s key features, emerging strengths, and broader business criteria. The shift from Sonar to Radar reflects the technology’s transition into mainstream adoption. GigaOm names Vespa.ai a leader for its ability to manage complex data, optimize results at scale, and support multimodal AI workloads. The report highlights Vespa’s native tensor suppor
Hitit Empowers Airlines to Optimize Crew Leave Planning with Gurobi20.11.2025 15:00:00 CET | Press release
With Crane Crew, one of the products in Hitit’s Crane Solution Suite, dozens of airlines have reduced their planning periods from weeks to minutes. Gurobi Optimization, LLC, the leader in decision intelligence technology, is proud to be the solver of choice for Hitit, a leading global provider of airline and travel IT solutions. Hitit’s Crane Crew Leave Optimizer—one of the key sub-modules of Hitit’s Crane Crew solution—enables airlines to quickly generate optimal leave schedules for thousands of crew members. Powered by Gurobi’s mathematical optimization solver, the tool significantly reduces planning time while improving both operational efficiency and crew satisfaction. Among the many constraints that airlines must consider are operational requirements, business rules, crew seniority, and personal preferences. As such, manual planning efforts can often lead to inefficiencies, crew dissatisfaction, and compliance risks. After switching to Crane Crew, Hitit’s partner airlines have rep
Myonex Appoints Greg Lavin as Chief Executive Officer20.11.2025 15:00:00 CET | Press release
Greg Lavin takes over the CEO role as James Lovett retires and joins the company’s Board of Directors Myonex®, a leading global integrated clinical trial supply solutions and commercial services company, announced today that Greg Lavin, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) effective January 1, 2026. A seasoned executive with experience in the pharmaceutical services industry, including senior roles across clinical research organizations, preclinical and laboratory services, and healthcare data analysis, Lavin succeeds James Lovett, who is retiring and will remain on the company’s board of directors to provide strategic guidance. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251120250133/en/ Greg Lavin at Myonex's Headquarters in Horsham, PA During his 6-plus years as CFO of Myonex, Lavin has worked closely with Lovett in driving its transformation from a comparator sourcing su
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom